College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 81, N.C. Wesleyan 68

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Carson Long scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds in Guilford College’s 81-68 men’s basketball win over North Carolina Wesleyan College Sunday in the Hyatt Place Tipoff Classic hosted by the University of Mary Washington.

Long scored five points during a decisive 14-2 Guilford (2-2) run midway through the second half. Mitch Layton’s putback basket with 11 minutes remaining gave the Battling Bishops (2-1) a 56-55 edge. The 11th lead changed proved the final lead change as Guilford netted 14 of the next 16 points. Will Leckonby’s three-pointer with 5:22 left in regulation capped the spurt and opened a 69-58 Guilford lead. North Carolina Wesleyan missed five of its next six shots and turned the ball over five times during Guilford’s 14-2 outburst.

The Quakers had only one field goal in the final four minutes but made eight-of-11 free throws in that time to keep the Bishops at bay.

North Carolina Wesleyan made seven-of-12 first-half three-pointers and built an eight-point margin with 5:14 left in the half. Guilford’s Kyler Gregory scored eight of the Quakers’ next 10 points as Guilford rallied to within 38-37 at the break. He scored 12 of his season-high 18 points in the first half and Long netted 14 of his 23 points in the opening frame. Long and Gregory represented Guilford on the all-tournament team.

Gregory added six rebounds, three assists, and two steals to his 18 points. Marcus Curry netted 13 points and collected nine rebounds. Redshirt-sophomore point guard Jaylen Gore added nine points and six assists. The Quakers shot over 54 percent from the floor and kept the Bishops to under 40 percent shooting for the game.

Chris Braswell’s 15 points paced North Carolina Wesleyan. Led by Damon McDowell (11 points) and Chris Sause (10 points), the Bishops’ bench held a 29-10 lead over its Quakers’ counterpart.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers visit Averett University Tuesday (8/20) in a nonconference game. Guilford and North Carolina Wesleyan are scheduled to meet again November 28 in Rocky Mount, N.C.

Photos by Andy Gore
[AFG_gallery id=’315′]