HIGH POINT, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College men's basketball team put out a great effort on Monday evening on the road as they almost upset the Div. I High Point University Panthers before falling 90-85 in overtime.
Wesleyan got out to a great start in the first half shooting 51 percent from the field and 53 percent from three while HPU shot just 37 percent as the Bishops entered the half tied with the Panthers at 40 apiece.
Big games from junior center A.J. Frye and senior point guard Chris Braswell kept Wesleyan in control of the whole second half including 5 threes and 18 points from Braswell in the second half to put NCWC ahead 78-75 with 8 seconds to play. Unfortunately, High Point's Brandon Kamga knocked down a tying three-pointer to send the game to overtime. HPU's Jahaad Proctor then led the team to the overtime win with his 35 points in the game. The Panthers ended the Bishop's upset bid with a 12-7 margin in OT.
Braswell ended up finishing with 23 points while going 5 of 8 from three and 2 assists. Frye then led the team with 23 points on 8 of 10 shooting while also adding 6 rebounds, a team-high 4 assists and a steal.
Also finishing in double-figure scoring on the night was forward Ricardo Bullock with 15 points and guard Damon McDowell with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bullock also added 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.
Wesleyan remains 8-1 on the season as this game is counted as an exhibition for the Bishops while High Point improves to 6-5 overall.
The men are now off until finishing up non-conference action with a trip to Washington, DC for the Catholic University Tournament on Dec. 29-30.