RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Methodist men's basketball team dropped an 83-79 OT contest at William Peace on Wednesday evening.
 
Methodist falls to 7-16 on the season and 3-9 in the USA South while William Peace improved to 10-14 overall and 5-8 in the league.
 
Following a jumper from Will Baggett that gave MU a 57-48 lead with 8:29 left in regulation, a 21-12 run by the Pacers tied the game at 69-69 with 1:17 on the clock following Sam Johnson's three pointer. Jalen Vince gave WPU a 71-69 lead with a layup an 47 seconds to play, and Brandon Monk split a pair of free throws to pull MU within 71-70 with 33 seconds showing.
 
Chris Thomas missed the front end of a one-and-one for WPU and on the ensuing possession, Tabias Hilliard split a pair of free throws for the Monarchs to tie the game at 71-71 with 18 seconds to play. Thomas missed a potential game-winning layup with two seconds to play.
 
In the overtime period, Methodist quickly took a 77-73 lead with a 6-2 burst capped by a dunk from Jackson Whitley before back-to-back three's by Johnson gave the hosts a 79-77 advantage with 1:12 left. A missed shot by the Monarchs allowed Vince to get to the line where he made 1-of-2 for an 80-77 lead and 27 seconds to play.
 
Methodist followed with a turnover and Johnson split another pair of charity tosses for an 81-77 lead. Monk scored for MU with seven seconds to play to make it a two-point game, but Johnson scored once again for the Pacers to close out the scoring with two seconds on the clock.
 
Monk led four Monarchs in double figures with 17 points and he added nine rebounds. Hilliard had 16 points, Baggett scored a career-high 11 and Whitley added 10. Mike Major had eight points and 11 rebounds, and Monk and Whitley each pulled down nine boards.
 
Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, including 6-of-12 shooting from long range.  Thomas had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Vince added 13 points. Dakota King totaled eight points and six rebounds.
 
The Monarchs close out their season on Saturday when they host N.C. Wesleyan at 4:00 pm.