DANVILLE, Va. - The NC Wesleyan College men's basketball team suffered a tough defeat on the road Wednesday night falling 78-65 to their East Division rivals, Averett University (Va.).
Averett got out to a fast start shooting the ball well in the first half at a 57.6 percent clip to take a 17-point halftime lead at 44-27 over the cold-shooting Bishops, who shot just 28 percent in the first half.
Wesleyan would make a comeback in the second half twice trimming Averett's lead down to eight points, but could creep no closer as Averett held on for the win shooting 48 percent for the game and pulling down 46 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Damon McDowell led the Bishops with 19 points including 17 in the second half as Wesleyan shot 44 percent, but was only 28 percent from the three-point line on the night. McDowell also added a team-best 6 rebounds with 2 assists, a team-high 3 steals, and a block.
Junior center A.J. Frye also finished in double-figures for the game scoring 13 points along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block while sophomore guard Josh Covington also scored 11 points. Senior guard Chris Braswell would also finish with 8 points on the night while junior forward Ricardo Bullock played well defensively blocking four shots and pulling down 4 rebounds.
1st place Wesleyan falls to 18-4 overall and 11-3 in the USA South while Averett improves to 7-15 overall and 7-7 in the conference as the rivals split the season series.
The men are next in action on Saturday as they head back out on the road to face Pfeiffer University (N.C.) at 4:00 PM.