Coleman's Tip-In Lifts NC Wesleyan Past Men's Basketbal, 71-69

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - NC Wesleyan's Adam Coleman's stick-back as time expired lifted NC Wesleyan past Christopher Newport 71-69 in a USA South Quarterfinal contest Tuesday night.

Lenny Hall's shot missed the rim entirely and Coleman was perched on the weak-side and corralled the rebound and layed in the winning bucket as time expired to give the Bishops the win. NC Wesleyan advances to play Greensboro in the 8 pm semifinal on Friday.

The Captains trailed 34-30 at the break, but came out and quickly tied the score at 41-41 with 15:53 left on Ed Riley's three-pointer from the top of the key. NC Wesleyan's Emanuel Alston countered with a three of his own, but the Captains rebounded to go on a 16-2 run to take a 57-46 lead with 8:44 to play on Donta Selden's driving lay-up.

The Bishops however battled and remained within striking distance. NC Wesleyan cut the lead to three on two Coleman free throws with 2:52 to play. Davon Barton's bucket on the other end put the Captains ahead by five, 67-62, on the next possession.

NC Wesleyan again cut the lead to three, 69-66, with 41 seconds to go on Stephen Mobley's lay-in. But CNU turned the ball over on its next two possessions. With the ball and trailing by three, Hall threw up another three-point attempt, but Mobley grabbed the board and kicked it back out to Trey Drake who drained his only three-pointer of the night with eight seconds to play.

After a Bishop timeout, CNU in-bounded the ball and promptly turned it back over to NC Wesleyan setting up the final seconds of the game.

For the game, NC Wesleyan finished 27-of-73 (37%) from the field, 4-of-19 (21%) from behind the arc and 13-of-17 (77%) from the line. The Captains were 27-of-53 (51%) from the floor, 3-of-8 (38%) from long range and 12-of-16 (75%) from the line.

CNU out-rebounded the Bishops 45-31, but it was the season-high 26 turnovers that translated into 29 NC Wesleyan points that provided the difference.

Coleman finished with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting. He also had seven rebounds. Drake and Hall each finished with 13 points.

For CNU, Riley led the offense with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Selden finished with 16 points and Mark Blasingame, who played the entire game, had 12 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

NC Wesleyan improves to 11-14 overall. Christopher Newport concludes the year 15-11.

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