FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Brandon Monk poured in 27 points, including 20 in the first half, and the Methodist men's basketball team held off a late rally from William Peace to earn a 79-76 win on Wednesday evening at the Riddle Center.
 
Monk finished 12-of-21 from the floor and added five rebounds and three assists in lead MU (6-11, 2-4 USA South). Dakota King led the Pacers with 21 points as William Peace fell to 7-11 overall and 2-5 in the league.
 
Methodist used a 9-2 run to close the first half with a 43-37 lead in what was a closely-contested opening 20 minutes. Monk had a run of eight straight points for MU midway through the first half, singlehandedly keeping the Monarchs in the game as the Pacers chipped away at what had been a five-point deficit to take a 33-30 lead with 3:49 left in the first half.
 
In the second half, the Green and Gold quickly extended their lead to 10 points (47-37) by the 18:23 mark and still led by 10 (54-44) with 14:23 on the clock. A 10-3 run by William Peace, capped by Jalen Vince's jumper at the 10:31 mark trimmed MU's lead to three points at 57-54.
 
The Monarchs held the lead the remainder of the game, but William Peace made it interesting down the stretch. Trailing by eight (78-70) with 34 seconds on the clock, Ryan Emfinger pulled WPU to within five points with a trey at the 26-second mark. An MU turnover led to a three from Nate Strother that put the score at 78-76 with 14 seconds to play. A Pacer foul sent Davion Ayabarreno to the line with a chance to make it a two-possession game, but he split his free throws and the Pacers got two shots off in the final 13 seconds to tie the game but failed to convert.
 
The Monarchs shot 55.4 percent from the floor (31-56) and turned the ball over just nine times. William Peace shot just 37.3 percent (28-75) for the game, including 28.9 percent (11-38) from long range. Methodist got to the line 23 times, hitting on 14 (.609) while WPU shot just 11 free throws, hitting one nine. William Peace outrebounded Methodist, 42-35.
 
In addition to Monk's monster game, Ayabarreno chipped in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Tabias Hilliard added 11 points. Jackson Whitley posted eight points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
 
Chris Thomas and Vince added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Pacers. Emfinger pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds, and Strother had eight points and six assists.
 
The Monarchs return to action on Friday at Maryville beginning at 7:30 pm.