FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist men's basketball team withstood a late rally from Ferrum to earn an 84-80 win over the Panthers on Saturday afternoon at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
With the win on senior day, the Monarchs finished the regular season with a 17-8 overall record and a 12-4 mark in league play. Before the game, MU paid tribute to its five seniors, Davion Ayabarreno, Rae Hall, Troynell Reese, Bryan Rouse and Jackson Whitley.
 
Ferrum closes out the season at 6-18 overall and 4-12 in league play.
 
The Monarchs took a 45-33 lead into the break and led by as many as 18 points (63-45) with under 15 minutes to play, before Ferrum began inching back into the game.
 
A layup by Nick Helton at the 10:46 mark capped an 11-2 run by FC, and got the Panthers back to within single digits at 65-56. Garren Dearman countered with a layup and two free throws from Ayabarreno pushed MU's lead back to 13 (69-56) with 9:50 on the clock.
 
With 3:34 to play, the Monarchs still held a 12-point lead (78-66) before one last push from the Panthers. Rashad Reed's triple at 3:14 made it 78-69 and Josh Dudley followed with a layup to make it 78-71. Two free throws by MU's Dante Jackson put the score at 80-71 with 2:04 to play, but four straight turnovers by the Green & Gold allowed the Panthers to tie the game at 80-80 with under a minute to play.
 
Ayabarreno, who shot 10 of 11 from the free throw line for the game, split a pair of charity tosses with 35 seconds to play that gave MU an 81-80 lead. Dudley was unable to convert a layup at the other end that would have given Ferrum the lead, and Whitley hauled in the defensive rebound and went to the free throw line where he knocked down a pair to make it 83-80 with 20 seconds on the clock.
 
A missed triple on Ferrum's next possession wound up in the hands of Dearman, who made 1 of 2 free throws with 10 seconds to play to ice the contest.
 
Methodist shot 60.4 percent as a team, and knocked down 17 of 23 free throws (.739). MU also held a 33-26 edge on the glass. Ferrum shot 47.6 percent as a team, but got to the free throw line just 14 times, converting on seven attempts.
 
Ayabarreno led all scorers with 27 points and moved into the Top 10 at Methodist all time. He added seven rebounds and three assists. Reese scored 22 points on 11 of 15 shooting and came up with four steals. Whitley recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with four blocked shots.
 
For Ferrum, Marcus Huff led five players in double figures with 17 points. Dudley and D'Andre Mullen each scored 14, and Reed and Nick Helton added 12 points apiece. Mullen also handed out four assists and Reed pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
 
The Monarchs now turn their attention to the USA South Conference Tournament. MU, the second seed in the East Division, will host No. 3 seed Averett in a quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm.