RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College men's basketball team dropped their road matchup with conference rival, William Peace University, 88-80 on Tuesday evening.
A competitive first half saw Wesleyan take a 48-44 halftime lead thanks to 48.6 percent shooting from the field and 14 points from senior A.J. Frye in the first half. Peace shot 57 percent in the half to keep pace with the Bishops.
Wesleyan then extended their lead in the second half to seven at 51-44 thanks to freshman Devin Resper's three-pointer. Resper finished with 6 points on the night. Wesleyan then led 53-46 before Peace went on an 11-3 run to lead by one with 12 minutes to play. The Pacers would then extend their lead to 77-71 with 6 minutes to play and hang on for the win.
Junior Guard Damon McDowell led the Bishops with 23 points on the night along with 4 rebounds while Frye added 21 points as well with a team-high 9 rebounds and 2 assists.
Senior forward Rico Bullock was the final Bishop to score in double-digits as he finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore forward Isaiah Lewis also posted 7 points and 7 rebounds while senior forward Mitch Layton scored six with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Peace shot an impressive 55 percent for the game and held Wesleyan to 42 percent from the floor. Peace also made five more threes than the Bishops. However, Wesleyan out-rebounded the Pacers 44-26 and made 13 more free throws.
Wesleyan falls to 6-9 on the season and 2-5 in the conference while Peace improves to 6-8 and 4-2 in the USA South.
The Bishops return to action on Saturday when they travel west to face Huntingdon College (3:00 PM) and LaGrange College (2:00 PM) on Saturday and Sunday.