DANVILLE, Va. -- The Methodist men's basketball team saw its 2016-17 campaign come to an end with a 75-56 loss to LaGrange in the USA South Conference Championships on Saturday afternoon.
 
Davion Ayabarreno and Rae Hall, who were each named to the All-Tournament team, led the Monarchs (17-11) with 19 and 16 points, respectively. Hall added six rebounds and five assists, and Jackson Whitley pulled down five rebound with five blocked shots.
 
Alex Bonner led the Panthers (18-10) with 17 points. Travis Thompson added 15, Drew Vanderbrook chipped in 12, and Justyn Olson and Jamison McCray totaled 11 and 10, respectively.
 
After falling behind by one, 37-36, at the break, the Monarchs pulled ahead 44-42 on an Ayabarreno layup with just over 14 minutes to play. However, the Panthers closed the game on a 33-12 run to pull away for the title. MU hit on just three of its final 20 shot attempts from the floor, while LaGrange shot 13-22 over the final 14:35.
 
Vanderbrook scored 10 of his 12 points during the game-clinching run, and Bonner added eight points.
 
For the game, Methodist shot 35.1 percent (20-57) from the floor and just 24.0 percent (6-25) from long range. LaGrange countered at 42.6 percent (29-68) from the field and 80.0 percent (12-15) from the line. The Panthers also outrebounded MU, 46-34, and committed seven turnovers to 12 for the Monarchs.
 
For Methodist, the 17 wins mark the most in a season since recording 20 in the 2004-05 season, and the appearance in the conference final was the first since the 2004-05 season as well.