College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 80, N.C. Wesleyan 64

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Josh Pittman (Archdale, N.C./Trinity) scored 18 points and teammate Matt McCarthy (Rockville, N.C./Good Counsel) added a career-high 17 in Guilford College’s 80-64 nonconference basketball win over visiting North Carolina Wesleyan College Saturday.

McCarthy’s three-pointer with 3:40 remaining in regulation capped a 19-4 second-half run that lifted the Quakers (6-2) to their fourth win in five games. The third of the sophomore’s three three-pointers gave Guilford its largest lead, 71-55. After N.C. Wesleyan’s Brandon Givens made one of two free throws to pull the Bishops (7-2) to within 52-51 with 11:21 left, the Quakers reeled off 10 straight points to start the decisive spurt.

Guilford put five students in double-figure scoring in its second-best offensive game of the year. Junior Jake Hopkins (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) turned in the finest performance of his career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He also threw down two dunks, one during the 19-4 run. Rookie Zeb Richardson (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) continued his strong play with his first college double-double. He netted 13 points off the bench and led Guilford with a career-high 12 rebounds. Richardson, a 6-8 center, has averaged 15.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in his last four outings.

N.C. Wesleyan’s Givens started the week ranked second among NCAA Division III scoring leaders and didn’t disappoint. The senior swingman fell a half point of his season scoring average with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-29 field-goal shooting. He also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, six off the offensive glass. Cornelius Snow chipped in 11 points, but none in the second half.

Guilford visits Johnson & Wales (N.C.) University Tuesday (12/18) night in nonconference play.

N.C. Wesleyan vs Guilford
12/15/12 2:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House


GUILFORD – 80
N.C. WESLEYAN – 64

N.C. WESLEYAN (7-2): GIVENS, Brandon 10-29 3-7 27; SNOW, Cornelius 4-8 0-0 11; MORRISON, Josh 3-9 0-0 8; COLLINS, Evan 3-5 1-3 7; FORD, Chris 2-5 0-0 4; SIMPSON, Jesse 1-2 0-0 3; DANIEL, Isaac 1-2 0-0 2; STOKES, Eddie 1-3 0-0 2; BURNEY, CJ 0-0 0-0 0; PARKER, Jayvoine 0-1 0-0 0; DANIELS, Sameer 0-0 0-0 0; HUFF, Shannon 0-0 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Devontae 0-2 0-0 0; MARTIN, Julian 0-1 0-0 0; DORTCH-JONES, Eric 0-1 0-0 0; GURGANUS, David 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 4-10 64.

GUILFORD (6-2): PITTMAN, Josh 4-16 7-8 18; McCARTHY, Matt 6-12 2-3 17; HOPKINS, Jake 6-11 2-2 14; RICHARDSON, Zeb 5-12 3-5 13; TRACY, Travis 2-4 6-8 10; GIBBS, Kevin 3-3 0-0 6; HINTON, Jarred 0-1 2-2 2; STEVENSON, Ben 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 22-28 80.

   N.C. Wesleyan.................   35   29  -   64
   Guilford......................   37   43  -   80

3-point goals–N.C. Wesleyan 10-28 (GIVENS, Brandon 4-10; SNOW, Cornelius3-6; MORRISON, Josh 2-5; SIMPSON, Jesse 1-2; PARKER, Jayvoine 0-1; WILLIAMS, Devontae 0-2; MARTIN, Julian 0-1; GURGANUS, David 0-1), Guilford 6-22 (PITTMAN, Josh 3-11; McCARTHY, Matt 3-9; HINTON, Jarred 0-1; STEVENSON, Ben 0-1).
Fouled out–N.C. Wesleyan-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–N.C. Wesleyan 38 (GIVENS, Brandon 15), Guilford 47 (RICHARDSON, Zeb 12).
Assists–N.C. Wesleyan 14 (COLLINS, Evan 6), Guilford 17 (PITTMAN, Josh 7).
Total fouls–N.C. Wesleyan 22, Guilford 13.
Technical fouls–N.C. Wesleyan-None, Guilford-None.
Attendance-272
nonconference game