Gwynedd Mercy Men Get First Win, Take Down Wesley

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GALLOWAY, N.J. -- All five starters hit double figures as a big second half helped the Gwynedd Mercy Men's Basketball Team pick up its first win on the season with a 93-81 win over Wesley in the first game of the Stockton University Tip-Off Friday evening.

Gwynedd (1-2) had three players finish with a double double and were a rebound shy of a fourth as GMercyU erased a five-point halftime deficit to take the lead for good midway in the second.

Junior Cedric Elleby led GM with a game-high 24 points and snared 11 boards while Larry Jones III posted career highs with 20 points and 12 caroms. Senior Aaron Morgan chipped in 16 points and 10 assists and Julian Hyden contributed 16 points and nine rebounds. Darnell Artis scored all of his 13 points in the second half, a period that saw the Griffins shoot 50% and outrebound the Wolverines, 24-15.

In the first, Gwynedd trailed for most of the half as Wesley (1-1) would build up a 10-point lead after a three-pointer from Evan Anderson with seven minutes to go. Back-to-back three's from Hyden and a pair of jumpers from Elleby was part of Gwynedd's 10-point run to tie it back up at 30-30. Morgan's triple later in the period knotted it up at 41-41, but GM would go without a bucket for the final 2:25 as Wesley held a 46-41 edge at the half.

J.W. Lawson's three-point play early in the second gave the Wolverines their largest lead of the second (57-48). The Griffins, who battled through four ties and nine lead changes. Morgan's two free throws put GM up, 71-70, with 10:08 to go. That would kickstart a 22-11 run to end the game, including an 8-0 spurt over a three-minute span which extended the lead to double figures.

Lawson and Anderson each had 18 points respectively, while Anthony Bowers scored a team-high 22.

Hyden tied a career-high with four three-pointers. Elleby registered his second-straight double-double.

Gwynedd Mercy will square off with the host Ospreys tomorrow at 3 p.m.