Bishops Split Pair at Roanoke, Moore & Frye Named All-Tourney

2017-18 N.C. Wesleyan Men's Basketball Team
2017-18 N.C. Wesleyan Men's Basketball Team

Roanoke, Va. - The N.C. Wesleyan men's basketball team officially opened its 2017-18 slate on Friday and Saturday at the Roanoke College Tip-Off Tournament, splitting a pair of contests on the road. The Bishops downed Spalding 90-65 on Friday to earn a spot in Saturday's championship versus the host Maroons, where they fell 84-71 in overtime.

With a pair of Division I exhibitions under their belt, the Bishops were well-prepared for Friday's opener versus Spalding, blistering the nets for 57 first half points and shooting nearly 60 percent for the game. Senior Adrian Moore kicked off his final campaign with a team-high 21 points and four assists, while sophomore A.J. Frye chipped in 16. Junior Justin Tankelewicz added 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting from behind the arc.

In Saturday's championship game against host Roanoke, the Bishops raced out to a 14-2 lead in the first five minutes of play and eventually took a 39-28 lead into the break. Wesleyan maintained it's lead well into the second half, with a lay-up by junior Robert Wilson giving the Bishops a 59-53 advantage with 8:21 to go. Roanoke, however, reeled off eight unanswered points to take its first lead of the contest, 61-59, with just over five minutes remaining.

Those final five minutes featured four ties and/or lead changes. A Moore lay-up with 1:17 left in regulation made the score 69-69, and after a Maroon miss, Wesleyan got off a trio of potential gamewinners inside the last 33 seconds to no avail. Roanoke proceeded to out-score the Bishops 15-2 in the extra period to secure the victory.

Moore finished with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Frye added 14 points and six boards of his own. For their efforts, Moore and Frye were each named to the All-Tournament Team.

Wesleyan (1-1) continues play on Tuesday when they travel to Greensboro to take on the University of Delaware. The neutral-site contest is slated for 4:30pm.