Men's Basketball | 11/26/2012 10:24:00 PM

Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist men's basketball team held No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan to 30.3 percent shooting from the field and rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit before ultimately falling, 67-58, on Monday night at the Riddle Center.

The second-ranked Marlins (3-0) made good on just 20-of-66 shots from the field, including just 3-of-14 three pointers and twice appeared to have the game put away before the Monarchs rallied late.
 
In the first half, VWC opened up its largest lead of the stanza, 10 points (18-8) on a layup by DJ Woodmore at the 11:40 mark before MU (0-3) used a 9-0 spurt to pull within one (18-17) just 2:21 later following a three pointer by James Whitehead. Whitehead started the run by making 2-of-3 free-throw attempts after getting fouled on an attempt from long range.
 
The Marlins collected themselves, and dunks by Woodmore sandwiched around a pair of free throws by Tre' Ford a layup by MU's Bryan Hockaday, extended VWC's lead back to five (24-19) and the Marlins would enter the break up six, 32-26.
 
In the second half, the Marlins pushed out to a 12-point lead (42-30) following a layup by Ford with 15:04 to play. Virginia Wesleyan would then run its lead up to 17 points following a dunk by Trent Baston with 10:34 to play.
 
However over the next 5:05, the Monarchs forced four Marlin turnovers and limited VWC to just 2-of-6 shooting in embarking on a 17-4 run to pull to within four points (57-53) when Bryan Hockaday split a pair of free throws with 5:29 to play. Whitehead ignited the run with a three-point play and scored eight points during the stretch and Brandon Monk added six points.
 
Woodmore drilled a pair of free throws on the Marlins' next possession to push it back to a six-point game and following an empty possession for the Monarchs, Ford added a layup to put VWC up eight (61-53) with 4:37 showing on the clock. Methodist pulled to within five points at 62-57 with 1:37 to play, but a pair of missed free throws followed by a turnover after VWC had committed a turnover of its own allowed VWC to escape with the win as it hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.
 
Despite holding the Marlins to the 30.3 percent shooting mark, the Monarchs shot just 35.1 percent (20-57) as a team and were out rebounded, 49-27, including 18-7 on the offensive glass.
 
Whitehead led all scorers with 22 points and added six rebounds. Hockaday, who was plagued by foul trouble, added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just 19 minutes. Monk finished with 11 points off the bench and Kyle Combs grabbed a team best nine boards before fouling out late.
 
Woodmore led the Marlins with 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Chris Teasley totaled 15 points, including an 8-of-10 showing at the charity stripe. Ford and Chris Astorga each scored 10 points, but shot just a combined 7-of-24, including 0-of-5 from deep.
 
Methodist is back in action on Friday when it hits the road for the first time, traveling to Hampden-Sydney for a 7:00 pm contest.