Men's Basketball | 11/29/2008 4:16:06 PM

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Methodist Monarchs picked up their first win of the season with an 80-64 victory over the Piedmont Lions.

Methodist (1-4) scored the first basket of the game on a layup by freshman Mark Jernigan and jumped out to a 10-2 lead with 13:52 to go in the first half.  A layup by sophomore Travis Fulp extended the Monarchs lead to 31-16 with less than six minutes remaining.  Piedmont (0-3) closed the gap, but Methodist took a 38-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, Methodist kept the pressure on leading by as many as 19 with a jumper from sophomore Joshua Crumpler.  The Lions cut the lead to 12 with less than five minutes to go, but the Monarchs were strong from the free throw line to finish with the 80-64 win.

Sophomore Leland Jones led the Monarchs in scoring with 18 points backed by four 3-pointers.  Senior #A.B. Lehmann added 16 points and junior Tyler Sigman# scored 10 points.  Sophomore Marcus Connor and Jernigan had seven rebounds a piece while Connor finished with nine blocks for the Monarchs.

Methodist will host Lynchburg Monday at 7 pm.

Box Score