FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Five Monarchs scored in double figures and MU used a late 11-2 run to pull away from Covenant en route to an 83-69 win over the Scots on Friday night at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
Davion Ayabarreno, the second-leading scorer in the USA South, and Rae Hall each scored 17 points, Bryan Rouse added 16, and Jackson Whitley and Irving Aughburns each scored 11 as MU moved to 8-6 on the season and 2-1 in the USA South. Whitley added 15 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and Hall made good on 10 of 10 free throws as MU shot 88.5 percent (23-26) from the charity stripe.
 
Z Arima led the Scots (7-7, 1-3) with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 8 from long range, and Will Portlock chipped in 12 points. Bailey Spragg and Berto Dryden scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Scots shot 44.4 percent from beyond the arc (12-27), but converted on just 34.1 percent of their two-point tries.
 
The Monarchs, who led from wire to wire, built a first-half lead as large as 12 points (35-23) with under five minutes to play in the opening period, but the Scots closed the opening 20 minutes on a modest 8-2 run to pull within six points (37-31) at the break.
 
In the second half, the Scots trimmed their deficit to a single point (39-38) by the 17:18 mark, but a pair of buckets by Rouse sandwiched around a Whitley jumper restored MU's lead to seven points (45-38) at 15:48.
 
Patjo Twagirayezu split a pair of free throws with 7:05 remaining to put the score at 59-53 in favor of the Green and Gold before the Monarchs used the aforementioned 11-2 run to effectively seal the victory. Aughburns started the run with a layup, Whitley followed with a trey, Rouse converted a layup in transition and Hall added a pair of free throws before Aughburns finished what he started with a layup in transition for a 70-55 advantage at the 4:40 mark. Covenant would get no closer than nine points the remainder of the way.
 
For the game, MU shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the floor. It marked the fifth time in the last six games that Methodist shot better than 50.0 percent from the floor. The Monarchs also outrebounded Covenant, 42-31, and held the Scots to 38.2 percent (26-68) shooting overall. Covenant also managed to get to the line just eight times in the contest.
 
Ayabarreno added seven rebounds to his 17 points, Rouse pulled down four boards and handed out three assists, while Troynell Reese added six rebounds off the bench.
 
Portlock had six boards for the Scots, and Twagirayezo finished with seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Methodist will take on Maryville (11-2, 2-1 USA South) on Saturday at 4:00 pm.