Greensboro, NC - The N.C. Wesleyan men's basketball team dropped an 87-59 decision to Guilford on the road Wednesday, despite an early hot shooting streak. The Bishops jumped out to a strong start, with Justin Burden scoring the first basket of the game off an offensive rebound by Kyron Kelly. Wesleyan also forced a turnover on Guilford's first two possessions, one of which led to an easy runout layup from Shakei Hines.

The Basics:
Score: N.C. Wesleyan 59, #17 Guilford 87
Location/Venue: Greensboro, NC / Ragan-Brown Field House
Records: N.C. Wesleyan (1-2, 0-0 USA South), #17 Guilford (2-0, 0-0 ODAC)

Marquis Eskew quickly found his rhythm, scoring Wesleyan's second basket with a pull-up jumper at 16:30 and later hitting a three-pointer to help the Bishops retake the lead, 9-7, at the 15:11 mark. The Bishops' shooting continued to click as NCWU drained back-to-back threes, with Hines knocking one down as well. By the second media timeout, Eskew led all scorers with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, and Wesleyan was shooting 50% from beyond the arc.

Wesleyan kept the pressure on, with Kaleb Brooks hitting a pair of threes to give the Bishops a 17-16 lead just under eleven minutes in. The back-and-forth continued as James Jones also caught fire, hitting two more threes to push the Bishops ahead 26-21. A dunk from Kelly capped an 8-0 run that gave Wesleyan a 29-21 advantage, but Guilford would rally to close out the first half strong, tying the score at 32 headed into the break.

The Quakers came out firing after the break, quickly building a double-digit lead with a strong run. James Jones hit his third three of the game to cut the deficit to 43-39, but it wasn't enough to slow Guilford's momentum. The Quakers went on an 8-0 run and eventually stretched the lead to 54-44 at the under-12 media timeout.

Guilford continued to dominate, with three players in double figures, including Chase Ellis and Gabe Proctor, who both finished with over thirteen points. 

At the final horn, Jones led Wesleyan with sixteen points, shooting 50% from the floor, while Eskew ended his night with fifteen points on 6-of-11 shooting. The Bishops shot 44% from three-point range and received 24 points from their bench. However, it wasn't enough to overcome a strong second half from the Quakers.

Up Next:

Men's basketball returns to Guilford County to take on Division I foe UNC Greensboro on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM.