FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Davion Ayabarreno eclipsed the 30-point threshold for the second time this season, but the Methodist men's basketball team fell to Greensboro, 89-84, on Saturday afternoon at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
Ayabarreno was 14 of 21 from the field, including a perfect 5 for 5 from long range in scoring 33 points on the day. He added six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jackson Whitley added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in picking up his ninth double-double of the season and Bryan Rouse scored 15 points as well.
 
Joseph Gatling led the Pride (10-5, 4-1 USA South) with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting. He too, was 5 of 5 from three-point range. Darus Maddox scored 19 points off the bench, 14 coming in the second half, Donavan Griffith chipped in 15 and Hamilton Hawkins scored 12.
 
A layup by Ayabarreno at the 15:46 mark of the first half gave MU a 12-10 lead before the Pride ripped off a 17-6 run over the next 6:04 to take a 27-18 lead with 9:42 to play. Gatling started the run with a jumper and a trey, Hawkins added a three and a deuce of his own and Christopher Corbin capped the run with a three-point play for a nine-point lead.
 
Greensboro's lead stood at 10 points (42-32) with 2:10 left in the half, but six points from Ayabarreno down the stretch helped MU pull within six points (44-38) at the half.
 
The Monarchs, behind 10 points from Ayabarreno, opened the second half on a 16-7 run to assume a 54-51 lead at the 13:12 mark. Still leading by three (63-60) with under 10 minutes to play, the Pride used an 11-3 spurt to regain the lead, 71-66, on Cornelius Johnson's three-point play with 5:51 to play.
 
Methodist rallied once more, taking an 81-80 lead with 1:42 to play on a layup by Blake Davis, but an 8-0 run, fueled by seven points from Maddox, propelled the Pride to an 88-81 lead with 21 seconds left to play.
 
The Pride shot 53.2 percent (33-62) as a team, including 53.3 percent (8-15) from long range. Greensboro also shot 15 of 19 (.789) from the line, while the Monarchs got to the charity stripe just nine times, connecting on eight attempts (.889). The Monarchs shot 47.9 percent (34-71) as a team, and held a 39-29 edge on the glass.
 
Troynell Reese pulled down seven rebounds for MU, and Davis finished with six points, five rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
Hawkins led the Pride with five assists and Corbin came away with four steals.
 
Methodist hosts Ferrum on Sunday beginning at 1:00 pm.