Greensboro College Men’s Basketball Falls Short In Final Minutes Against Virginia Wesleyan

Men’s Basketball Falls Short In Final Minutes Against Virginia Wesleyan
from Wes Gullett, Greensboro College SID

VIRGINIA BEACH Va. – The Greensboro College men’s basketball fell in a heartbreaker to the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan University to open the Marlin Tip-off Classic Friday, 75-74.

Virginia Wesleyan was able to establish a 10-5 lead just four minutes into the game, following three straight three-pointers.

After the Marlins extended their lead to seven, Greensboro came storming back with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 14 with 11:29 to play in the half.

The spurt got started with a layup from Keyshawn Dorsey before Keyford Langley scored five of his 12 first half points, including a three-pointer to tie the game.

Following the Greensboro run, the two teams traded the lead back and forth before the Pride ran off seven straight points to take a 27-20 lead with 6:51 showing on the clock. Noah Watkins and Justin Minnis each had a three-pointer during the spurt.

Over the remainder of the half, the Marlins were able to chip into the Pride advantage but Greensboro was able to take a 38-37 lead into the break after connecting on 42 percent of their shots in the first half, including five-of-10 from long range.

Despite shooting the ball well for the majority of the first half, Greensboro struggled over the first four minutes of the second half to get anything to fall as the Marlins used a 7-2 run, which forced Greensboro to call a timeout, to take a 44-40 lead.

As the clock continued to count down, Virginia Wesleyan would take their largest lead of the game at 51-44 before Langley hit another three to cap off a 6-2 run to pull the Pride to within one at 56-55 with a pull-up three-pointer from the top of the key.

Following a pair of Marlins free throws, Minnis came charging down the court to knock down a three-pointer to tie the game at 58.

Once Minnis tied the game, Greensboro would lead by as many as five over the seven minutes before the Marlins rallied back to take a 73-72 lead with just over one minute left.

Over the final minute, the two teams traded the lead back and forth three times before the Marlins were able to hold on for the one point victory.

“I cannot say how proud I am of these guys and the way they competed tonight,” Head Coach Bryan Galuski said. “It was unfortunate to come out on the losing end of this very physical and tough game, but when you go on the road in a tough environment you just want to have and chance to win in the end and we gave ourselves that opportunity.

“This group of guys in the locker room are a lot of fun to coach and we have had several guys step up big in our first two games. Players like KJ (Keyford Langley) and Carmoni (Marks) have stepped up big in a leadership role and put this team on their backs. We are determined to have a great season and I am excited to see how our guys bounce back tomorrow.”

Langley finished with a game-high 21 points on six-of-10 shooting to go along with three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Michael Phifer chipped in 16 points on seven-of-15 shooting and Minnis added 11 points.

The Pride men will return to action Saturday when they take on the Falcons of Messiah College to close out the tip-off tournament at 1 p.m. For more information on Greensboro College men’s basketball, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.