Pfeiffer Men's Basketball Holds off William Peace, 76-74

Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 22, 2021) –The Pfeiffer University men's basketball team held off William Peace University down the stretch to take a 76-74 USA South road win on Sunday afternoon at the Hermann Center in Raleigh, N.C.

WPU (2-10, 1-9 USA South) would jump out to the early 9-2 lead after three-pointers from Tyler Parton and Beau Bryant.  Pfeiffer would then take the early 17-14 advantage and increased the lead to 32-24 after a Tyjarek Simmons (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) free throw at 3:18 of the first half. Another Simmons basket with 30 seconds before halftime put Pfeiffer up 24-26, but WPU got a free throw late to provide the 24-27 halftime score.

In the second half, the Falcon lead swelled to 11 points (49-38) on a D.J. Bradsher (Burlington, N.C.) layup at 13:41, but WPU started chipping away, closing to 59-57 with 7:41 left.

Pfeiffer would build the lead to 70-61 with 3:54 to play, but WPU again make a run, this time closing to 73-71 after a pair of Bryant free throws with 1:35 left.

Simmons would hit a critical three-pointer with 26 seconds to play to put Pfeiffer up 76-71.  The teams then traded two missed free throws each in the waning seconds, and WPU's Parton hit a three-pointer as time expired to provide the 76-74 final.

Simmons led Pfeiffer by scoring 16 points, going 3-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-5 overall. Bradsher also had a great outing, scoring 14 points, a career high, while freshman Dorian Miles (Greenville, S.C.) continued his strong play with 13 points and six rebounds.  Senior Jamaal David (Clinton, Md.) scored eight points and had a team-best nine rebounds in the win.

WPU's Beau Bryant led the Pacers with 19 points in the loss.

The win improves the Falcons to 5-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

Pfeiffer will continue their road swing on Wednesday, Feb. 24, as they travel to Danville, Va. for a 4:30 p.m. matchup with the Averett Cougars.