FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist men's basketball team held off Covenant College, 57-51, on Friday evening at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
The Monarchs (5-7, 2-1 USA South) outscored the Scots (2-10, 1-2 USA South) 14-5 over the final nine minutes to turn a late 46-43 deficit into the final six-point margin.
 
Covenant's Ryan Burns broke a 43-43 tie with a three pointer at the 8:58 mark to give CC a three-point edge (46-43). Brandon Monk answered for MU with a layup on the ensuing possession, and he tied the contest at 46-46 with a free throw with 5:28 left in the contest. Connor Sears pushed the Scots back in front (48-46) with a layup before Tabias Hilliard answered with a pair of free throws to tie the score once more (48-48) with 4:41 to play.
 
T.J. Gill gave MU the lead for good with a jumper at the 3:27 mark and Monk's layup at 2:33 made it 52-48 with 2:33 to play. Mike Major added five points down the stretch and the Monarchs held on for their second win in as many games.
 
Methodist raced out to an early 16-4 lead as Gill opened the game hitting his first three pointers, and Major, Monk and Desmond Parker added buckets as well. Following the early burst, Covenant settled in and outscored the Monarchs, 16-3 to take a 20-19 lead on a three by Robby Bell at the 6:52 mark. The Scots led by as many as five points (24-19) at the 5:53 mark before the Monarchs closed the half on a 10-3 run for a 29-28 advantage at the break.
 
For the game, MU limited Covenant to 31.7 percent shooting (19-60) and out rebounded the Scots, 40-35. Methodist also blocked eight shots on the game and went to the line 18 times, making 11, while Covenant shot just 3-of-8 from the charity stripe.
 
Gill led all scorers with 17 points,  and added nine boards with three assists and a pair of blocks. Monk shot 5-of-6 from the floor and added 11 points and six rebounds, while Parker had 10 points. Major pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, and Jackson Whitley chipped in three blocked shots.
 
Covenant was led by Colton McGriff's 13 points, and T.J. Cox added nine, knocking down 3-of-5 three-point attempts. McGriff added six rebounds and Connor Sears had seven points and five rebounds.
 
With the postponement of Saturday's scheduled game against Maryville, the Monarchs will now return to the court on Wednesday when they host St. Andrews at 5:30 pm.