Wesleyan Wins Big in Basketball

PEACHTREE CORNERS -- It was a great night for both the Wesleyan girls and boys basketball teams as both teams beat Mount Pisgah Christian. One team cruised to victory while the other had to do it in overtime.

The Lady Wolves' second meeting with the Lady Patriots was much like the first a couple of weeks ago. Wesleyan used their defensive pressure early and forced turnovers which they converted to points on their way to a 73-16 win over the Lady Patriots. 

Wesleyan junior forward Holli Wilkins and senior guard Grace Leah Baughn spearheaded the early pressure as they forced several turnovers and scored points off of them. 

Wilkins led Wesleyan in scoring with 12 points and Baughn had 11. By the time the first quarter was over, the Lady Wolves led 32-1 with freshman Jennifer Sapp scoring the lone point for Mount Pisgah Christian.

The onslaught continued throughout the rest of the game, though the Lady Patriots tried valiantly to put up a fight. Sophomores Camille Tracy and Rachel Plate each  knocked down 3-point shots, as did senior point guard Sandy Almond.  

Wesleyan played their reserves the whole second half. Sophomore guard Katie Frerking, along with Wilkins and Baughn,  was also in double figures as she scored 10 points on the evening. Sophomore guard Kendra Talley scoring 6 points on the night.

The Lady Wolves improve to 21-2 over all and still undefeated at 6-0 in Region 5B play. They will host St. Francis Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The Lady Patriots, now 8-14 over all and 2-5 in Region 5B play, will try to bounce back next Friday when they host Providence Christian at 7 p.m. 

The Wesleyan boys had a much tougher task as they faced a gritty Mount Pisgah team bent on avenging the loss at home to the Wolves a few weeks ago. 

The Wolves jumped out early to a 17-1 lead thanks to some hot shooting by
Teague while the Patriots' struggling to score. However, Mount Pisgah bounced
back in the second quarter as senior guard Kyle Sloter began to heat up. 

The Patriots also forced several stops on defense and by halftime, they trailed
23-18.  Sloter led the Patriots in scoring with 15 points including three shots
from beyond the arc.

Mount Pisgah also got big contributions from senior center Blake Piedrahita and senior forward Danny Schneider as they gave the Patriots a strong inside presence.  Piedrahita finished the night with 12 points and Schneider had 5.

 In the extra session, Mount Pisgah stayed right with Wesleyan and eventually tied the game 37-37 on a 3-pointer from junior guard Joseph Marco who finished the night with 7 points and two 3-pointers.  Both teams had chances to win in regulation but were unable to cash in,  thus sending the game into overtime tied at 39.   

The Patriots had chances to take the lead, but committed two turnovers early in the overtime period, giving the defending Class A State Champions a chance to ice the game. 

Wesleyan's Ty Teague was fouled and he sank two free throws. Mount Pisgah was
unable to convert on their next possession, and Teague hit a 3-pointer, putting the Wolves up 44-39.  Mount Pisgah senior forward Grant Williamson was fouled and he hit one of two free throws, making it 44-40 in favor of Wesleyan.

On the Wolves' next possession, sophomore forward Hudson Price, the son
of former Georgia Tech and Cleveland Cavalier point guard Mark Price,was fouled
and  sank two free throws. 

The Patriots were not able to score on their next possession, and Wesleyan junior forward Shane Smith was fouled and made both free throws putting the Wolves up 48-40. 

Though the Patriots tried to claw their way back into it, Wesleyan came away with the 51-44 victory. Teague led the Wolves in scoring with 20 points and Smith had 12.

With the loss, Mount Pisgah Christian falls to 15-8 on the season and 2-5 in Region 5B play. They will try to bounce back next Friday night when they host Providence Christian at 8:30 p.m. 

With the win, Wesleyan improves their over all record to 20-3 and still undefeated at 7-0 in Region 5B play. They will host St. Francis Tuesday night at 7:30.