FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A furious second-half rally fell just short as the Methodist men's basketball team dropped a 91-84 decision to N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon.
The Monarchs (7-17, 3-10 USA South) trailed by as many as 23 in the second half before heating up from three-point range to trim their deficit to just three points several times in the final four minutes.
After taking a 19-point lead (47-28) at the break, the Battling Bishops (19-6, 12-2), took their largest lead of the contest, 60-37, Adrian Moore's layup with 15:01 to play. Blake Davis answered with a trey for MU, and that was followed by a a Davis layup and a three from Jackson Whitley for the Green and Gold to make it 60-45 at the 12:43 mark.
The Methodist deficit stood at 14 points (71-57) with 7:18 on the clock but Davion Ayabarreno drilled a three, and Davis scored five points to quickly make it 71-65 with 6:03 left. Brandon Monk scored inside at the 5:01 mark that made it 71-67, but the Bishops got a three from D.J. Weaver to push their lead back to seven with 4:49 on the clock.
The Monarchs managed to get within three points (87-84) in the final minute on a three by Davis, but Weaver and Brandon Brown each hit a pair of free throws to close out the scoring for the 91-84 win.
The Monarchs shot a blistering 68.8 percent (22-32) in the second half en route to a 48.4 percent (31-64) mark for the game. NCWC shot 58.8 percent (20-34) in the first half and wound up at 49.3 percent (34-69) for the game. The Bishops also out rebounded MU, 39-31, and turned the ball over just five times. NCWC was 8-of-22 from beyond the arc, compared to MU's 14-of-27 total. North Carolina Wesleyan also got to the line 19 times, making 15, while MU was 8-of-9 at the line.
Davis finished with a career-high 28 points, 21 coming in the second half. Ayabarreno added 18 points, Jackson Whitley had 12, Monk chipped in 11 and Tabias Hilliard scored 10 to go with nine assists. Monk pulled down nine rebounds and Whitley had eight with three blocks.
NCWC's starters scored 84 of their 91 points. Brown had 22 points, Weaver and Moore each had 18 points, Shannon Huff scored 14, and Devontae Williams totaled 12. Moore added nine rebounds and seven helpers, and Williams had eight boards and six assists.
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