ROCKY MOUNT, NC – The William Peace University men's basketball team was back in action Sunday afternoon, traveling to Rocky Mount to square off against North Carolina Wesleyan. The Pacers let a second half lead slip away, and the Bishops escaped with a 73-68 win.

The Pacers fall to 7-12 overall, but it was an especially crucial loss in terms of USA South standings. WPU is 2-6 in league play and in 10th place. Fortunately, the Pacers are still only one game out of a spot in the conference tournament with plenty of basketball still to play. NC Wesleyan improves to 13-6 and 6-2 in conference, moving into a three-way tie atop the standings with Greensboro and Covenant.

Terry Rogers was one of four Pacers in double figures, as he went 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from the bonusphere to match his career high of 16 points in only 19 minutes off the bench. Jalen Vince scored 12 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Chris Thomas also finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks.  Nate Strother added 10 points, two boards and a steal, while Sam Johnson chipped in with nine points, two rebounds and an assist.

WPU fell behind by as many as 13 points (25-12) with four minutes left in the first half, going nearly nine minutes without a field goal. WPU turned it over 10 times in the first, but they cleaned things up and went into the break only down three (30-27) after closing the half out on a 15-5 run.

Wesleyan hit their first six shots of the second half, extending their lead back to 11 (44-33) five minutes in, but the Pacers went on a 12-1 run over the next 3:25 to knot things up at 45. Terry Rogers hit a three-pointer that put WPU ahead, 50-47, with 10:34 left to play, and they led by as many as six points with 6:29 remaining following a three from Sam Johnson.

The Bishops tied it up five times down the stretch but never regained the lead until Adrian Moore made it 69-67 with only 58 ticks remaining. WPU missed a wide open layup on their next possession that would have tied it up and were forced to foul after Wesleyan grabbed an offensive rebound on their ensuing possession.  The Bishops finished the game on an 8-1 spurt, including 4-of-4 from the stripe to salt it away.  

Both teams shot right around 40% for the game, with WPU going 23-of-58 (39.7%) from the field and 10-of-28 (35.7%) from long-distance, their 11th game with 10 threes or more. Wesleyan went 26-of-62 (41.9%) from the field and 6-of-20 (30%) from deep.

Despite turning it over 10 times in the first half, WPU ended up winning the turnover battle coughing it up only three more times the rest of the way. The Bishops turned it over 17 times, which resulted in 28 points at the other end for the Pacers. However, Wesleyan more than made up for their mistakes by dominating the glass. They out-rebounded WPU, 50-27, and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds for 20 second chance points.

Adrian Moore led the way for Wesleyan, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and a steal. Shannon Huff scored 16 points along with seven rebounds, an assist and a block. Devontae Williams contributed 10 points, seven boards and a block.

The WPU men's basketball team returns to the Hermann Athletic Center this Wednesday, hosting the Cougars of Averett University at 7:30 p.m.

Video coverage and live stats will be available for the contest. Daron Vaught will be on the call for the Pacers Basketball Network.

For the latest news and updates from William Peace University Athletics, please visit: http://gopeacepacers.com/.