FERRUM, Virginia -- The Ferrum College men's basketball team dropped its season and home opener to William Peace University, falling 74-63 tonight at Swartz Gym.

RECORDS
William Peace (1-0)
Ferrum (0-1)

THE BASICS
Alfredo Abel-Rivera's layup a minute and a half into the game gave Ferrum an early 7-2 lead, but William Peace stormed back with an 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds to go out in front 10-8.

The two teams played even the rest of the first half, with Abel-Rivera's layup with five seconds left before halftime breaking a 32-32 stalemate and giving the Panthers a two-point lead at the break, 34-32.

Johnny Franklin's jumper at the 16:06 mark of the second half gave Ferrum its final lead, 40-39. A 7-0 William Peace run over the next two and a half minutes put the Pacers in front for good. Calvin Washington's layup at 13:02 cut the lead to 49-44, but WPU went on to build an 11-point lead with 9:26 left to play, then held on for the non-conference win.

KEY STATS
William Peace: Michael Dulin 20 pts, 6 3FG; Beau Bryant 16 pts; Tyler Parton 14 pts; Timothy Pettiford 11 pts
Ferrum: Abel-Rivera 20 pts, 10 reb; Washington 17 pts;

NEXT UP
Coach Patrick Corrigan's team will be back in action Saturday and Sunday, November 12-13, at the Seahawk Classic, hosted by St. Mary's College of Maryland. The Panthers take on University of Valley Forge Saturday at 7:00 p.m.