GREENSBORO, N.C.—Greensboro College’s Greyson Collins (Greensboro, N.C./Caldwell Academy) posted a team-high 21 points while Keyshawn Dorsey tallied a career-high 19 points as the Pride claimed a Friday evening USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) victory over Methodist University, 82-65.
The Pride (5-10, 2-5 USA South) jumped to a 9-3 lead in the first five minutes thanks to two Greensboro field goals in the first two possessions of the contest. Methodist (3-2, 3-1 USA South) briefly took a one-point lead at the 13:06 mark of the first half, but the Pride countered with five-straight points over the next two-and-a-half minutes. The Monarchs posted an 11-0 run spanning a 2:36 portion of the period after tying the game with 8:34 left in the half, forcing a Greensboro timeout to cap the run. The Pride answered back with a 7-0 run over a 1:55 span out of the timeout to cut the deficit to two points. Methodist elevated the lead back to six points with 3:28 left in the period and then returned the lead to six with 2:32 left. The Pride scored the final five points of the period, capped by a Matthew Brown layup off a defensive rebound with 40 seconds remaining.
Methodist grew their lead back to six points through the first three minutes of the second half. Clayton Coe connected on a three-point field goal to extend the Monarchs’ lead to nine at the 15:53 mark of the half. The Pride battled back with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to two points with 14:15 remaining. Methodist clawed back to a seven-point advantage with 12:36 remaining in the contest and extended their lead to eight points with 10:50 left. The Pride began their comeback with a 9-2 run, sparked by a Collins three-point play at the 10:30 mark of the period. Dorsey converted on two free throws to cap the run with 8:11 remaining. Greensboro extended the run to 14-4 at the 7:16 mark on a Collins layup in transition to grow the lead to three points. After a Methodist field goal, the Pride exploded with a 9-0 run over a 1:37 span beginning at the 6:57 mark as Greensboro’s lead reached double digits for the first time. Greensboro began to pile up points at the foul line as Brown’s pair of made free throws extended the lead back to ten points after a brief Methodist counter. The Pride’s lead extended deeper into double digits as the Greensboro capitalized on two technical fouls from Methodist after a common foul call, sinking all six free throws in the sequence and putting the game out of reach.
The Pride shot 47.1 percent from the field thanks to a 54.5-percent effort in the second half. Methodist shot 41.4 percent for the contest including 43.3-percent second-half shooting. Greensboro shot 28-for-33 (84.8 percent) from the foul line while Methodist shot 12-for-17 (70.6 percent).
Methodist earned the rebounding edge, 35-32, and on second-chance points, 17-12. Each side scored 30 points in the paint and also battled to a 22-22 draw in points-off-turnovers. The Pride boasted a 19-11 advantage in fast-break points. Despite a large offensive effort from Greensboro’s starters, the Pride’s bench held an 11-6 edge over the Monarchs’ reserves.
Collins’ 21 points came on six-for-14 shooting, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Dorsey’s 19 points came on six-for-ten shooting. Bradley Pierce added 17 points on five-for-nine shooting with four rebounds and five steals. Brown added 14 points while pulling down nine rebounds and earning six assists with two blocks.
Dante Burden lead Methodist with a game-high 24 points on 11-for-19 shooting. Garren Dearman added 20 points on five-for-ten shooting.
The Pride and the Monarchs finish their USA South home-and-home series Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest in Fayetteville, N.C.
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Courtesy of Bryan Jones, Greensboro College Sports Information Director