Wesleyan dunks way to victory over Carlisle, 72-56

Wesleyan Christian's athleticism was on full display against Carlisle with numerous thunderous dunks in a 72-56 victory in the final opening round game of the John Wall bracket in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational. 

Head coach Keith Gatlin was proud of his team's performance, saying they left it all on the court.

"It's a blessing to get a win like this," said Gatlin. "We played hard and got a hard fought win out of it."

The 2013 Summit Hospitality champions were able to stay close through halftime, trailing just 33-26 at the break, but Wesleyan got into a zone in the second half and was able to pull away.

Carlisle head coach Jason Niblett said Wesleyan and star player Harry Giles are what he expected them to be.

"We played extremely hard, but hats off to them," Niblett said. "He (Giles) is as good as advertised. It all came down to toughness though. Once they started making a few plays, they got up and down the court and it got away from us."

Giles, the number one ranked junior in the state, led Wesleyan with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Kwe Parker, the fourth ranked junior in the state added 15 points, including three highlight reel dunks, in the win.

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams and North Carolina State's Mark Gottfried were all on hand to view the highly rated recruits.

A connection was evident as the two stars matched each other on the court in every facet of the game.

"We hang out all the time off the court, so it translates through during the game," said Giles.

Parker added "It's a special bond we have on and off the court. We compete at everything, so it pushes us to be better."

The key for Wesleyan was getting Giles free and in the open court, which they did seemingly with ease in the second half.

"When we get Harry one-on-one, no one can stop him," Gatlin said. "Where Harry goes, we go."

Yesid Mosquera, who finished with 10 points, had the unenviable job of attempting to stop Giles, which he did well in the opening half. He said preparation was key in the attempt to stop such a dynamic player.

"Personally, I just did my assignment to try to stop him," Mosquera said. "I had to go harder than anyone out there. Down the stretch, they got up and down and just got away from us."

Wesleyan moves on in the winner's bracket to play Word of God at 6:50 on Monday. Meanwhile, Carlisle next as the challenge of stopping 7 foot 6 inch Tacko Fall and Liberty Christian, at 10:30 Monday morning.