BUCKHANNON — West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcat senior guard Alex Mirhosseini shot a personal best 38 points and led his team to the final buzzer, but Wesleyan men’s basketball came up a point short to fall to the undefeated University of South Carolina-Beaufort Sand Sharks, 87-86, in the home-opener at the Rockefeller Center.
In a back-and-forth battle that saw neither team take a lead by more than seven points, Mirhosseini had the ball often, shooting 13-of-19 from the floor (68 percent) that included 6-of-10 three-pointers plus 6-of-7 made free throws.
With a 51-46 halftime lead, USCB maintained its lead but only by a few points until Wesleyan tied it at 62 midway through the second half and took the lead on the following possession on a Mirhosseini fast break layup.
The Sand Sharks then gained control and maintained a late second-half lead until, with 70 seconds left, Mirhosseini again tied the game at 86.
The game ended in controversy when, on the next USCB possession, a defensive rebound by Curtis Litton was called a technical foul after an aggressive stance under the net with two Sand Sharks wrapped around his arms caused Kevaughn Price to hit the floor. Rockefeller Center erupted as Price stood by himself and attempted to sink the technical free throws. He missed the first but put USCB up by one with the second successful attempt.
The ensuing Sand Shark inbound pass went to Kenney Gains who attempted to ice the game with a 3-pointer but missed and Michael Batchelor came down with the ball with 24 seconds on the clock. A quick run down the court left Lethaniel Foster Jr. open at the left baseline and he shot from the three-point stripe as the clock ticked toward zero, but the ball hit the rim and bounced out of play and time expired.
Phoenix, Ariz. transfer guard Batchelor had 20 points with a 6-of-10 field goal performance. He added six defensive rebounds and seven assists.
Leading the Sand Sharks was Dominic Eason with 22 points (7-of-15 FGs) and Nolan Paladugu with 19 points (7-of-14 FGs).
Wesleyan hosts its first Mountain East Conference opponent Fairmont State University on Saturday, Nov. 23. Tip is at 4 p.m.
