Winchester, Va. - The Battling Bishop men's basketball team handed host Shenandoah University a 75-65 loss on Saturday afternoon in the final game of the 2014 South Region Challenge. Wesleyan's victory came on the heels of a 59-56 loss to Hampden-Sydney on Friday, leaving the Bishops with a 2-1 overall mark.
Against the Hornets on Saturday, the Bishops never trailed en route to the 10-point win. NCWC forged a 41-28 lead at the break and led by as many as 15 early in the second half. Shenandoah battled back to get as close as five on three occasions late in the period, the final coming at 68-63 with 53 seconds to go.
From there, the Bishops got back-to-back defensive stops and watched as freshman Adrian Moore calmly knocked down 5-of-6 attempts at the charity stripe to pull away. Moore's lone miss resulted in an offensive rebound and putback by junior Brandon Brown that sealed the win.
Sophomore Eric Dortch-Jones led all players with 23 points. He was joined in double-figures by Moore with 16, D.J. Weaver with 11, and Brown with 10. Brown also pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Statistically, the difference in the game came on turnovers. Wesleyan turned 25 Hornet miscues into 35 points.
Previously versus the Tigers on Friday, the Bishops held a 60-50 lead with 6:19 left in regulation. Unfortunately, a four-minute scoring drought for Wesleyan resulted in a 12-0 H-SC run to make it anyone's game down the stretch. Wesleyan led twice more, the latter coming at 56-55 with 28 ticks left on the clock. A Tiger basket gave H-SC a one-point advantage, and a crucial turnover on Wesleyan's next possession saw the game end with a pair of Tiger free throws.
Dortch-Jones paced the Bishops with 28 points and seven boards.
The Bishops host the University of Mary Washington on Tuesday in their 2014-15 home opener. Tip-off is slated for 5:30pm in Everett Gym.