Rocky Mount, N.C. - The Battling Bishop men's basketball team hosted a pair of USA South contests over the weekend, suffering a pair of 6-point losses to Maryville and Covenant in Everett Gymnasium. Despite the losses, junior John Edwards turned in productive performances, averaging 14 points, five rebounds, and three steals per contest off the bench.
Friday night's game versus Maryville (12-3, 3-1 USA South) saw the Bishops fall just short in their comeback bid, 86-80. Wesleyan trailed by 19 points, 65-46, with 9:46 to play but used a late run to get as close as 83-80 with 21 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, a critical turnover and a trio of MVC free throws enabled the Scots to seal the win down the stretch.
Edwards finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while senior D.J. Weaver and Brandon Brown joined him in double-figures with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Brown also added eight rebounds.
Versus Covenant (9-6, 4-1 USA South) on Saturday, the Bishops shot a solid 56.3 percent in the first half en route to a 46-37 lead at the break. Wesleyan, however, connected on just 9-of-28 attempts in the second half, which enabled Covenant to turn a 9-point halftime deficit into a 6-point victory, 77-71.
Edwards tallied 12 points, six rebounds, and three steals to pace Wesleyan, while Brown and Weaver again reached double-figures with 15 and 13, respectively.
Wesleyan is now 9-6 on the season, 2-2 in USA South play. The Bishops hit the road on Wednesday for a 7:30pm match-up with Greensboro College.