Rocky Mount, N.C. - Head Coach John Thompson reached a coaching milestone on Monday afternoon by notching the 300th victory of his career in N.C. Wesleyan's 75-66 win over Guilford College. Having joined Wesleyan prior to the 1995-1996 season, all 300 of Thompson's victories have come on the Battling Bishop sideline, and the veteran coach from Durham remains, by far, the most successful coach in program history.
Both teams held 10-point leads in the first half. Wesleyan's came early on as senior Brandon Brown drained back-to-back treys to spark a 14-4 game-opening run. The Quakers, however, racked up 12 second-chance points in period to erase the deficit and take a 10-point lead of their own into the break, 37-27.
Wesleyan's bench caught fire in the second half, led by junior John Edwards and freshman Isaiah Alston. An Alston three-pointer at the 12:09 mark got the Bishops to within one, 52-51, while a pair of free throws by Edwards would eventually give NCWC its first lead since the opening half, 55-54. Later tied 61-61, Edwards drained a trey from the corner to put the Bishops on top for good, and sophomore Marcus Williams put the game out of reach with seven points in the final 2:35.
Brown, Edwards, and Alston finished with 11 points apiece, while freshman Chris Sause played a pivotal role in Wesleyan's second half run with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Justen Best paced Guilford with a game-high 15 points.
The Bishops (5-4) will now break for the holidays before returning to action on January 2nd at Penn State-Abington.