FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Bryan Rouse scored a career-high 25 points and the Methodist men's basketball team won its third straight game, 70-65, over Guilford on Saturday afternoon at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
Rouse, who scored 18 of his 25 in the first half, hit on 9 of 15 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 three-point attempts. He also added four assists and four steals. Jackson Whitley added 16 points, five rebounds and six blocks, while Rae Hall and Davion Ayabarreno each scored 12 points. Hall also had six assists.
 
As a team, Methodist (4-5) shot 52.0 percent from the field (26-50), including 47.4 percent (9-19) from long range, while holding the Quakers (5-2) to just 34.8 percent shooting (23-66). The stingy defense helped offset a 39-27 edge for Guilford on the glass.
 
After a Mason Reyer three at the 10:02 mark of the first half gave GC a 17-15 lead, the Monarchs reeled off an 18-1 run over the next 5:23 to assume a 33-18 lead 4:39 before the break. Whitley started the run with a three and Rouse followed with seven straight points for the Monarchs. Ayabarreno added jumper at the 5:55 mark and Rouse closed the spurt with a pair of triples. Incidentally, that trio of Monarchs were the only MU players to score at all in the first half.
 
Guilford answered with a 14-4 run to close out the period however, and pulled within five points (37-32) at halftime. Carson Long, who led the Quakers with 17 points, scored seven points during the run.
 
In the second half, MU's lead once again reached double digits, getting as high as 14 points (59-45) on a pair of Whitely free throws with 7:34 to play, before the Quakers made one final surge. An 18-6 run by Guilford, including seven points from Reyer, closed GC's gap to just two points at 65-63 with 2:03 to play.
 
After trading Hall and GC's Zachary Houston traded layups, Hall converted a three-point play for a 70-65 lead with 29 seconds to play, and the Monarchs harassed Guilford into missing its final three shot attempts.
 
The three-game win streak for MU is its longest since the late stages of the 2014-15 season. The Monarchs will look to extend their win streak next Saturday at Huntingdon beginning at 2:00 pm.