Greensboro College Pride Men’s Basketball Moves to 2-0 With 76-72 Defeat of Maryland Bible

ROCKY MOUNT, NC — The Greensboro College Pride men’s basketball team improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 76-72 defeat of Maryland Bible College on the second and final day of the 2013 NC Wesleyan Classic.

To start the game, Damion Dixon took the opening tip and laid it in to give The Pride a quick 2-0 lead in the game. Following the quick basket, the Soldiers responded right back with a 4-0 run to go up by two early. Greensboro was able to get the offensive end going, connecting on four straight shots pushing their lead to 6 with 15 minutes remaining in the half at 15-9. Jermaine Bates got the string started connecting with a jumper, which was answered right by with a three pointer by teammate Tracy Jester. After The Pride was able to pull the lead out to 6, Maryland Bible came back with a 6 point run of their own to tie the game up at 15-15.

Once the Soldiers tied the game, both teams continued to trade baskets keeping the game tight. Greensboro was finally able to put a little bit of space between themselves and their opponent when Jermaine Bates connected on a three point shot giving The Pride a four point lead at 25-21. The Pride continued to push the pace of the game, taking their largest lead of the half at 8 at 38-30 when Jacob Thomas connected on his first three pointer of the game. To close out the half Maryland Bible went on a 7-0 run pulling to within one at 38-37 going break.

Once the teams returned to the court, Will Griffin converted the and one to push the Greensboro lead back out to five at 46-41 just three minutes into the new half. Edric Robers was able to extend the lead out to seven following his fast break basket off the assist from Dixon making the score 50-43. Once again Maryland Bible went on a 6-0 run cutting The Pride lead back to one, before Dixon was able to stop the bleeding pushing the lead back to three at 52-49 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the game.

The Soldiers were able fight back and take the lead back for the second time in the game at 63-65 five minutes later. However, The Pride would not panic coming right back with Jacob Thomas’s second three pointer of the game making the score 66-65. After retaking the lead, Thomas tallied six of the final nine points of the game. Greensboro was able to hold on to a late threat to win the game 76-72.

Greensboro College had four players in double figures in the contest, with Dixon leading the way with 17 while collecting 13 rebounds. Jacob Thomas finished the game with 15 points, converting on all six of his attempts from the charity stripe, while Devan Gregory added 10 points on four of nine shooting. The Pride shot 35% (26-76) from the field, while converting 19 of 29 from the charity stripe.

With the win, The Pride moves to 2-0 on the season, while Maryland Bible falls to 0-2. The Greensboro College Pride men’s basketball team will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel three miles down the road to take on cross town rival Guilford College in the Greensboro Coliseum. Game time is set for a 7:00 pm start. Tune in the latest on Greensboro College athletics at www.greensborocollegesports.com.