Men's Basketball | 12/17/2011 8:25:00 PM

Box Score FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Methodist men's basketball team built a big comeback against the College of Mt. St. Vincent on Saturday, but came up just short in the final seconds. The two teams were competing at the Cruzin' Classic in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The Monarchs were down by 16 points on three different occasions before mounting a 21-5 run in the final five minutes to tie the game at 81. James Whitehead scored a layup with 1:14 left to play moving Methodist within one point. Both teams traded turnovers before the Monarchs' Dervin Johnson grabbed the steal with 33 seconds to play and was fouled. Johnson hit his second free throw to tie the game and the Dolphins called a timeout with 17 seconds remaining. Mt. St. Vincent's Shaquille Cunningham scored the game-winning basket with 1.3 seconds on the clock.

Mt. St. Vincent took the early lead, building a 19-11 advantage midway through the first half. Terrell Stallings helped the Monarchs move back within three points at 22-19, but the Dolphins pulled away to take their largest lead of the game at 40-24 with 3:10 left to play in the period. Mark Jernigan fed Whitehead for a layup in the final minute, but Mt. St. Vincent held the 44-32 advantage at halftime.

The Dolphins rebuilt a 16-point lead early in the second half, but Methodist chipped away at the lead moving within six points in the first seven minutes. The two teams battled throughout the game with Mt. St. Vincent went ahead 76-60 with 5:24 on the clock. The Monarchs went to work and put together their comeback that came up just short.

Jernigan led the Monarchs with 21 points while Whitehead added 18 points. Bryan Hockaday scored 13 points and added a team-high seven rebounds.

Both teams move to 3-6 on the season and will continue play in the Cruzin' Classic. The Monarchs will take on NCAA Division II opponent the University of West Georgia Sunday at 2 p.m.

Box Score