Courtesy Wesley Athletics

LANCASTER, Pa. - Wesley College's Paul Reynolds (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna) capped a monster evening with a three-point play at the buzzer to lead the Wolverines past Old Westbury 81-78 at the Sponaugle New Year's Tournament.

The sophomore, who was named the CAC Player of the Week earlier in the day, poured in 27 points on the night, but the Wolverines needed every one of them to pull out the win. 

A free throw by the Panthers' (2-7) Jamal Little with 53 seconds left had tied the score at 78-78.  After the teams traded turnovers, Wesley (6-6) took over with eight seconds left.  Reynolds got inside for two as time expired and was fouled, with the made free throw good for the three point final margin.

On the night, he hit 9-of-13 field goals and was a perfect 9-of-9 at the foul line.  Reynolds also added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals to his stat line.

The Wolverines came out of the gate fast, jumping out to a 19-5 lead less than four minutes in on a jumper by Darrell Johnson (New Castle, Del./Howard).  Old Westbury chipped away at the lead for the rest of the half, cutting it to two on a free throw by Frantz Granjean with 1:39 left, but another basket by Johnson made it 39-35 in favor of Wesley at the break.

In the second half, the Panthers took a pair of three point leads late, but each time Wesley battled back.  After a pair of free throws by Granjean with 2:12 to go gave Old Westbury a 77-74 lead, back-to-back lay ups by Reynolds and Rudy Thomas (Milton, Del./Sussex Tech) gave Wesley a 78-77 lead.  Little was fouled, however, with 53 seconds left, but hit just one of two to tie the game and set up the dramatic finish.

Johnson also finished in double digits for the Wolverines with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting.  He also had six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in the game. 

The Wolverines hit 6-of-14 threes (43 percent) and 15-of-18 free throws (83 percent) on the night.  Wesley also had just 11 turnovers to help overcome a 44-24 deficit on the glass. 

Four Panthers reached double figures.  Little, who hit four threes, and Lester Prosper, who had 12 boards and eight blocks, each had 17 points.  Granjean added 16 points and a dozen rebounds, while Tyquan Moore scored a 12 points.

Wesley returns to CAC action when Frostburg State visits Wentworth Gymnasium on January 3.