WINCHESTER, Va. -- The Methodist men's basketball team shot 58.9 percent from the floor and built a 12-point lead at the break in defeating Shenandoah, 81-67, on Sunday afternoon at Shingleton Gymnasium.
 
The Monarchs (1-1) hit on 33-of-56 shot attempts, including 18-of-29 (.621) in the first half to pick up their first win of the season. Mike Major led four Monarchs in double figures with 17 points, while Tabias Hilliard added 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
 
After Shenandoah (0-2) took a 3-2 lead to open the game, Major gave the Monarchs a lead Methodist would never relinquish with a jumper on the next possession. The Monarchs pushed out to an eight-point lead (13-5) as Desmond Parker knocked down a jumper with 15:34 on the clock. The Hornets managed to cut their deficit to four points (15-11) on Jimi Starks' triple about a minute later, before MU began steadily extending its lead the rest of the half.
 
Davion Ayabarreno split a pair of free throws at the 9:05 mark that gave the Monarchs a 27-17 lead, and Parker's jumper in transition at the 6:24 mark extended the Monarchs' advantage to 14 points (36-22) as MU led 43-31 at the half.
 
In the second half, MU opened with a 15-5 run that gave the Monarchs a 58-36 lead with 14:20 to play. Methodist's lead grew to as many as 29 points (73-44) with 7:37 on the clock, before the Hornets chipped away at it in the game's final minutes.
 
Parker (14) and T.J. Gill (13) joined Hilliard and Major in double-figure scoring. Chris Vinson and Jackson Whitley each scored eight points and Whitley had three blocked shots. Major added four steals.
 
For Shenandoah, Jared Carithers had 22 points, and Malcolm Clark and Starks had 12 and 10, respectively. Xavier Alston pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, and Clark had four assists and four steals.
 
Methodist will look for its second win of the season on Friday when it takes on Capital University at Roanoke College beginning at 4:30 pm.