DANVILLE, Va. -- The seventh-seeded Methodist men's basketball team shot 60.0 percent from the floor and knocked off No. 2 seed William Peace, 90-72, in the quarterfinal round of the USA South Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Averett University's Hanes Gym.
 
T.J. Gill scored a game-high 23 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and was one of four MU players in double figures as the Monarchs even their record at 13-13 on the season. William Peace finishes the season with an identical 13-13 record.
 
Tied at 28-28 with 5:42 left in the first half, Gill keyed an 11-2 run that gave the Monarchs a 39-30 lead with 4:18 left in the half with back-to-back triples. Desmond Parker followed with a layup and Tabias Hillard capped the run with a three of his own.
 
The Pacers managed to trim their deficit to four points (41-37) on Chris Thomas' layup with 2:09 left in the first period, but the Monarchs closed the stanza on a 9-4 spurt, including another three from Gill and six points from Brandon Monk, to take a 10-point lead (50-41) into halftime.
 
In the second half, the Monarchs began to pull away, outscoring WPU, 20-8, over the first nine minutes of the second half to assume a commanding 70-49 lead with 10:55 left to play. Mike Major was the catalyst to the Monarchs' game-clinching run, scoring eight points, while Parker chipped in six. In all, the Monarchs hit on 9-of-15 shots from the floor during the run, while limiting William Peace to just 4-of-14 shooting with three turnovers.
 
The dominant run by the Monarchs turned what had been a close game into a rout. For the first 15 minutes of the contest, neither team led by more than three points and the lead changed hands several times with two ties, the last coming at 28-28 before the Monarchs pulled away.
 
As a team, Methodist shot 39-of-65 from the floor (.600), including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. William Peace was held to 37.7 percent shooting (23-61) from the field, and the Pacers hit on 10-of-25 (.400) three-point attempts. The Monarchs also held a 38-32 advantage on the glass and forced 14 turnovers against 11 committed.
 
Gill's 23 points were the second-most he had scored in a game this season, behind only a 25-point performance in an 89-82 loss at Roanoke back on Nov. 22. He also added six rebounds and a pair of assists. Parker (16) and Major (14) joined Gill in double figures, and Jackson Whitley contributed a career-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Parker and Chris Vinson each pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, Hilliard added five assists against zero turnovers, and Major added to his MU single-season record with three steals.
 
For William Peace, Thomas finished with 14 points, and Jalen Vince had 13. Thomas also led the way with six rebounds, and Ryan Emfinger added five boards.
 
Methodist will now take on No. 6 LaGrange, a 73-63 winner over No. 3 Piedmont, in the semifinal round on Friday beginning at 5:00 pm at Averett University.