FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist men's basketball team shot 68.6 percent in the first half and scored 55 points in the opening half en route to an 87-73 win over Averett in the quarterfinal round of the USA South Conference Tournament on Tuesday evening at the March F. Riddle Center.
 
The second-seeded Monarchs shot 24 of 35 in the first half, including 4 of 6 from long range, and held a 55-31 lead at halftime. Following a layup from Moriba Diaby at the 12:21 mark that pulled the Cougars within 14:11, the Monarchs hit seven straight shots from the floor and held AU to 1 of 5 shooting in extending their lead to 28-14 by the 8:58 mark. Methodist knocked down a pair of triples during the run, and Davion Ayabarreno scored seven of MU's 14 points.
 
A three-point play by James Contreras Jr. pulled the Cougars to within 28-17 at the 8:50 mark, but Methodist answered with a 19-6 run to take a 47-23 lead with 2:49 to play. Methodist's run was once again fueled by hot shooting from the floor, as MU shot 9 of 12 from the floor over the nearly six-minute stretch and eventually took a 55-31 lead into the break.
 
In the second half, MU cooled off to 39.1 percent shooting, including an 0 for 6 ledger from deep, and Averett pulled to within 10 (74-64) with 6:53 to play. The Cougars had a chance to cut even deeper into their deficit, but hit on just 1 of 4 free throws on their next two possessions.
 
A layup from Troynell Reese with 2:50 to play gave the Monarchs a 79-65 lead. Averett managed to cuts its deficit to single digits once more (81-72), this time on a Harrison Cochran triple with 1:56 showing on the clock. The Monarchs hit on 4 of 6 free throw attempts in the final minutes and got a dunk from Reese with 21 seconds to play to put an exclamation point on the win.
 
For the game, MU finished at 56.9 percent shooting (33-58) from the floor and 70.8 percent (17-24) from the line. Averett shot 36.0 percent (27-75) for the game, including just 2 of 17 (.118) from long range. The Cougars held a slim 40-39 edge in rebounding and committed three fewer turnover (13) than the Monarchs (16).
 
Bryan Rouse led MU with 21 points and Reese added 20 on 8 of 9 shooting. Jackson Whitley posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with six blocked shots. Ayabarreno added 11 points and nine boards, and Rae Hall added 10 points with seven assists.
 
Contreras Jr. led all scorers with 33 points and added six boards. Diaby added 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
Methodist will now take on the top seed in the West, Maryville, on Friday at 7 pm in Maryville, Tenn.