Men's Basketball | 12/3/2011 5:11:00 PM

Box Score MARYVILLE, Tenn. - The Methodist men's basketball team came from behind on Saturday to win their third straight with a 79-78 win over Maryville College.

The Scots opened up an eight point lead at 21-13 with just over seven minutes played, but the Monarchs came back and took a 3-point lead with 5:33 remaining in the first half. Maryville rebuilt a seven point advantage, but Methodist's James Whitehead hit a layup in the final 10 seconds to move the Monarchs within five at halftime.

Maryville led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Methodist chipped away at the lead and Whitehead's 3-pointer with 4:43 on the clock gave Methodist their first lead at 72-70 since midway through the first half. The Scots regained the 75-74 lead with two free throws, but Mark Jernigan hit a layup and scored the free throw on the foul to put the Monarchs back in control at 77-75. The Scots went 3-for-4 in free throws in the final minute to lead by one, but Methodist's Dervin Johnson hit the eventual game-winning basket with 12 seconds on the clock. The Scots had one final possession, but missed a 3-pointer and the follow up layup after grabbing the offensive rebound.

Whitehead paced the Monarchs with 24 points while Jernigan added 20 points. Johnson scored 12 points and Bryan Hockaday had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Methodist will be back on the road on Tuesday when they travel to Virginia Wesleyan for an 8 p.m. tip-off.

Box Score