WINCHESTER, Va. -- Mike Major scored the game-tying layup with one second left in regulation, but Montclair State held on in overtime to edge the Methodist men's basketball team, 88-86, in overtime in the opening game of the BB&T Tipoff Classic hosted by Shenandoah on Saturday evening.
 
Major converted a layup on the final play of regulation to tie the game at 77-77, and the Monarchs (0-1) took a four-point lead (83-79) at the 3:21 mark of the extra session before Montclair State outscored MU, 9-3, down the stretch to take the win.
 
After the Monarchs took the aforementioned four-point lead, a pair of free throws from MSU's Shaune Russell trimmed MU's lead to two (83-81) with 2:03 to play. Tabias Hilliard pushed the Monarchs' lead back to four with a layup 30 seconds later, but Kevin McGorry countered with a lay in at the 1:18 mark to make it at n 85-83 lead at the 1:18 mark.
 
With the score at 86-83 in favor of Methodist, McGorry made it a one-point game (86-85) on a layup with 46 seconds on the clock, and following a miss by MU's Desmond Parker, Erick Lofton-Harris pushed Montclair State to an 88-86 advantage when he converted a layup and was fouled with just five seconds on the clock. He made good on the free throw for an 88-86 lead and Hilliard couldn't convert a potential game-tying layup to end the game.
 
The Monarchs raced out to an 11-1 lead at the 13:07 mark of the first period on three-point play by Major. Methodist increased its lead to 13 points (18-5) on a three pointer by T.J. Gill at the 10:46 mark. The lead stood at 14 points (27-13) with 6:45 to play before Montclair closed the half on a 22-7 run.
 
MSU made eight of its final 13 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 free throws over the final six minutes and change in closing the gap to 36-34 at the break. Montclair took its first lead of the game (45-43) on Lofton-Harris' layup with 14:19 left in the contest as neither team led by more than four points in the second half.
 
Major led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He added seven rebounds as well. Gill scored 17 points off the bench, knocking down 3-of-5 three pointers, and Parker and Hilliard had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Parker pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, and Hilliard added six assists and five boards. Austin Saunders finished with eight points and five rebounds.
 
Lavorne Green led five MSU players in double figures with 18 points. Loften-Harris (13), Russell (12), McGorry (10), and Marcus Fulmore (10), all eclipsed 10 points in scoring. Russell pulled down eight boards, Loften-Harris had five rebounds and four assists.
 
The Monarchs are back in action on Sunday when they take on the loser of Cazenovia vs. Shenandoah.