GREENSBORO, NC – Behind a game high 19 points by Simeon Howard, the Pride men’s basketball team (5-4) defeated the visiting Wildcats of Johnson & Wales (6-9) by an 85-70 score on Thursday night.
After going into the halftime break tied at 33-33, Greensboro College was able to overcome a thirteen point margin in the second half to come away with the victory.
The Pride faced their largest deficit at 52-39 with 14:26 showing on the second half clock. Greensboro College then used a 21-6 run over the next six minutes of play to take the lead for good at 60-58.
Simeon Howard got the run started for the Pride with a basket off a feed from Raheem Martin before Brandon Pascucci capped off the run with five straight points.
After taking the lead a 60-58, the Pride then expanded their lead out to 74-62 just five minutes later.Johnson & Wales would climb back to within six points down the stretch but the Greensboro defense held strong to secure the victory.
“This is a great win going in the holiday break for our team and I am really proud of them,” Pride Head Coach Bryan Galuski said. “The first half of play did not go the way that we anticipated, but we were able to make adjustments at the half and play tougher on both ends of the court to come away for with the victory.”
Three other players also recorded double digits scoring on the night. Parris Scales contributed 13 points to go along with seven rebounds while Edric Roberts and Devan Grgory added eleven and twelve points in the game respectively.
The Pride hustled on the boards throughout the contest finishing the game with a 41-22 advantage. Howard also pulled down a team high nine rebounds in the game to go along with seven rebounds by Raheem Martin.
Greensboro College also recorded 17 assists in the game. Will Griffin passed for a team high four assists in the game while Christopher Corbin and Martin chipped in three each.
Tramain Parker led the way for the Wildcats with 14 points.
Greensboro College will return to the court on Sunday, December 28th when they square off with Lake Forest (Ill.) on Mayo C. Harlow Memorial Court at 2:00 PM. Live action of the contest with the Foresters can be found on www.greensborocollegesports.com.