DANVILLE, Va. -- T.J. Gill scored 25 points, but LaGrange shot 60.9 percent from the floor and knocked down 12-of-20 three-point attempts in posting a 104-90 win over the Methodist men's basketball team in the semifinals of the USA South Conference Tournament on Friday night at Averett University.
 
The seventh-seeded Monarchs (13-14) shot a shade under 50.0 percent (32-65) for the game, but couldn't keep pace with the sixth-seeded Panthers' (15-12) in a high-octane contest. LaGrange had six players reach double-figures in scoring and four different Monarchs accomplished the same feat.
 
In the first half, Brandon Monk spotted the Monarchs to a 19-18 lead with a layup at the 11:56 mark before a dry spell knocked them off LaGrange's frenetic pace. The Panthers used a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes and change, capped by a Nick Mitchell jumper, to assume a 38-24 lead with 4:03 left in the half. The Monarchs would face the same 14-point deficit (46-32) at halftime.
 
In the second half, Joey Horne scored the first five points of the period to pull the Green and Gold to within nine points (46-37) with less than a minute gone by. However, the Panthers used another big scoring run, this one a 16-3 spurt, to extend their lead to 62-40 on a Mitchell charity toss at the 14:01 mark.
 
LaGrange's lead reached as many as 30 points at one time before MU closed the game on 17-1 run over the final four minutes of play.
 
Gill finished 10-of-14 shooting from the field in tying his career-high in his final collegiate contest. Desmond Paker added 13 points, Mike Major had 11, and Tabias Hilliard chipped in 10. Major also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and added two steals with three assists. Monk, Horne and Blake Davis each scored nine points.
 
For LaGrange, Mark Wagner had 25 points and hit on 7-of-10 three-point attempts. Alex Bonner added 16 points, Jordan Johnson had 13, Mitchell scored 12, Justyn Olsen 11, and Braxton Ford 10. Olsen also had a game-high nine rebounds and was one of four Panthers with four assists. Mitchell, Ford and Bonner also had four helpers apiece.