FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Davion Ayabarreno poured in 25 points and the Methodist men's basketball team escaped some late-game drama in handing Maryville an 80-76 defeat on Saturday afternoon at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
Ayabarreno shot 10 of 14 from the floor in eclipsing the 20-point barrier for the fourth time this season while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Jackson Whitley collected his seventh double-double of the year with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with three blocks, and Blake Davis added 10 points and six rebounds.
 
The Scots' (11-3, 2-2 USA South) Dante Hoppa scored 13 points on 4 of 15 shooting and Chris Watson added 10 points. Calvin Songster, the team's leading scorer entering the game, was held to nine points on 4 of 13 shooting, including just 1 for 7 from three-point range. Tyler Spicer added eight points and eight rebounds.
 
The first half featured a total of 10 lead changes and seven ties as the two teams matched each other in the early going. Maryville managed to build a seven-point lead (28-21) with just over five minutes left in the opening half before an 11-3 run gave MU (9-6, 3-1) a 32-31 lead with 3:20 to play. Following a pair of treys by Ayabarreno to close out the first half, MU took a 40-39 lead into the break.
 
In the second half, the Monarchs had a chance to pull way as the Scots missed each of their first nine shots. However, MU opened shooting just 1 for 7 over the same stretch and found its lead to be just three points (45-42).
 
Leading by one (55-54) with 12:27 on the clock, a triple from Rae Hall ignited a 17-4 run in which MU shot 7 for 9 and extended its lead to 72-58 with 7:35 on the clock. Included in the run were a pair of three-pointers from Will Baggett and an emphatic dunk from Whitley in which he was able to finish despite getting fouled.
 
The Scots countered with a 17-4 run of their own, including holding MU scoreless for a stretch of over four minutes, in trimming its deficit to just two points (76-74) with 41 seconds to play. A layup by Whitley with 29 seconds to play was answered by a layup by MC's Jay Bowyer for a 78-76 contest with 15 seconds on the clock.
 
Following Bowyer's layup, Davis was fouled on the inbounds and after making the first free throw, he missed the second but was able to corral the offensive rebound and draw another foul to get back to the line. He missed the first, but made the second to make it a two-possession game (80-76) with eight seconds to play and Bowyer's final three was off the mark.
 
The Monarchs shot 46.2 percent (30-65) as a team, including 40.0 percent (8-20) from long range, and held Maryville to 37.5 percent (27-72) shooting. Maryville hit on 11 of 34 three-pointers (.324). The Scots held a 43-38 edge on the glass and turned the ball over 12 times to MU's 13.
 
Troynell Reese added eight points and seven rebounds off the bench and Hall added four assists for the Monarchs.
 
For the Scots, Bowyer and Emanuelle Garcia each scored eight points off the bench and Hoppa pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
 
The Moanrchs are off until Wednesday when it hosts William Peace at 7:30 pm.