GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Davion Ayabarreno scored 33 points and the Methodist men's basketball team weathered a late charge by Greensboro to pull out a 92-90 win in overtime at Haynes Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
 
With the win, the Monarchs (13-8, 7-3 USA South) moved a half game ahead of Greensboro for the top spot in the USA South standings.
 
Ayabarreno, who took over as the top scorer in the conference, shot 13 of 19 from the floor and 5 of 5 from the line. It marked the third time this season that he has recorded over 30 points and he now sits at 20.4 points per game. Jackson Whitley added 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Bryan Rouse chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Blake Davis added 11 points and three assists.
 
Joseph Gatling led the Pride (12-7, 6-3) with 28 points, but shot 11 of 26 from the field. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Donavan Griffith added 17 points and Darus Maddox contributed 14 points off the bench.
 
The contest featured 21 lead changes and 18 ties, the largest lead for any team coming with under 10 minutes left in the second half when Whitley converted a short jumper that gave MU a 67-58 lead. Gatling answered with a three for GC, followed by a Maddox triple then another trey from Gatling to tie the game at 67-67 with 8:17 on the clock.
 
Another empty possession for the Monarchs led to a four-point play from Maddox and a 71-67 lead for the Pride with 7:28 to play. MU came back and tied the contest 73-73 on a pair of free throws from Ayabarreno with 5:28 to play, and a Whitley dunk off a lob pass from Rae Hall made it 77-76 in favor of the Monarchs with 4:12 remaining.
 
The Monarchs led 81-80 following another bucket by Whitley with 1:51 showing. GC's Cornelius Johnson drew a foul and split his free throws to knot the game at 81-81. Methodist turned the ball over with 36 seconds to play to give the ball back to the Pride with a chance to take the lead. The Monarchs forced Gatling into a long jumper that he air balled resulting in a shot clock violation and giving MU the game's final possession. Rae Hall's three as time expired failed to draw iron.
 
In the extra frame, Rouse scored the first points to give MU an 83-81 lead and Whitley followed with a pair of free throws for an 85-81 edge. Greensboro shaved its deficit to a single point on two occasions, the last coming on a layup by Griffith with 22 seconds to play that made it 89-88. A free throw from Davis and a pair of charity tosses from Ayabarreno put the Green and Gold up 92-88 before GC got a pair of free throws from Lorenzo Marry with 10 seconds to play that made it 92-90.
 
Hall, who entered the game among the nation's leaders in free throw percentage, missed a pair of free throws with nine seconds to play that would have made it a two-possession game, but Dominic Eubanks' three as time expired was off the mark.
 
Methodist shot 55.4 percent (36-65) from the field and 83.3 percent (15-18) from the line, while limiting the Pride to 44.7 percent shooting (34-76) from the floor, including 34.8 percent (8-23) from long range. The rebounds were even at 37-37 and Greensboro committed 14 turnovers to 19 for the Monarchs.
 
The Monarchs are back in action on Saturday at Ferrum beginning at 2:00 pm.