If there were background music to N.C. Wesleyan’s past three-plus weeks, it would undoubtedly be “The Jeffersons” theme song.

The Bishops dropped Averett, 89-76, Wednesday at Everett Gymnasium, their fourth consecutive home victory and third straight overall.

After being in dead-last in the USA South on Jan. 13, they have crawled within a half-game of second place with three regular season games to play.

“We’ve been able to get better every day for the past three weeks, not just in games but also in practice,” N.C. Wesleyan coach John Thompson said. “If we continue to build, we think we can be a pretty good team before the season’s over.”

N.C. Wesleyan (11-10, 5-4 USA South) turned in another impressive effort to sweep the season series with the
Cougars (7-15, 2-7).

The Bishops shot better than 50 percent from the field, hit 11 of their 24 shots from
behind the arc and turned over the ball only eight times, recording an assist-to-turnover margin of plus-10.

“We’ve been patient, we’ve been listening to our coaches and we were able to take care of the ball,” N.C. Wesleyan forward Domarius Thomas said. “We know if we take care of the ball, we usually have good
possessions.”

Thomas had game-highs in both points and rebounds. He scored 21 points and grabbed 10 boards for his fourth double-double of the
season.

Off the bench, Julian Martin scored 15 points, Cornelius Snow had 12 points and Josh Morrison chipped in 10 points for N.C. Wesleyan.

“(Averett) went only eight guys deep, so having the type of depth we do was definitely an a factor” Thompson said.

The Cougars struggled to find a defense that worked against N.C.
Wesleyan.

Averett started the game playing man-to-man, but N.C. Wesleyan’s movement repeatedly allowed the Bishops l good looks at the basket. Then the Cougars switched to a 2-3 zone, but the Bishops hit five threes in a short span before halftime.

“We were ready for anything they were going to throw at us,” Thomas said. “We talked about in walk-through, that we can get any shot we wanted no matter what defense. Man, zone, whatever – we were ready for it.”

Averett also attempted double teams in the low post, but N.C. Wesleyan’s big men were able to quickly pass out of it for open jumpers.

“We watched tape of their last game, and they did a lot of doubling down on a big, 6-7 guy,” Thompson said. “That was a great job in the scouting report by (assistant) coach (David) Doino. Our guys knew to expect it.”

The Bishops again experienced success with a 2-3 zone.

Thompson installed the 2-3 after halftime of the Bishops’ Jan. 22 against Shenandoah, and it sparked a 25-3 run that quickly turned the contest into a blowout.

N.C. Wesleyan has stuck with the zone, and Thomas said the Bishops have found something that fits them.

“We love to play that zone,” he said. “We’re long and athletic, so we give other teams a lot of problems in the 2-3. We can block out and rebound out of it when the ball’s already in the air, and we’re getting a lot of turnovers in it.

“It’s really worked for us. We’re going to stick with it.”

N.C. Wesleyan travels to Shenandoah on Saturday.

If the Bishops win and Methodist loses at Ferrum, N.C. Wesleyan will guarantee at least one game at Everett Gym in the USA South Tournament.

“We do have a lot of guys that have been together for a long time,” Thompson said. “We’re playing well, we just have to continue to develop our confidence.”

Nick Piotrowicz can be reached at 407-9952 or npiotrowicz@
rmtelegram.com.