LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga.  Friday evening's cross-divisional battle between a pair of USA South Athletic Conference contenders was a story of two different halves.

The host Scots of Covenant College trailed Methodist for the opening 19 minutes and 35 seconds, took the slimmest of leads (33-32) into the halftime break, then ran away from the Monarchs in the second half for a 77-59 conference victory that kept the Scots undefeated in league action.

Covenant entered the contest with a one-game lead over second-place LaGrange College in the USA South West Division, while Methodist sat one game behind East Division leader N.C. Wesleyan College.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Covenant def. Methodist, 77-59
Records: Methodist 7-9 (5-3 USA South), Covenant 8-6 (7-0)
Location: Barnes Physical Education Center; Lookout Mountain, Georgia

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Methodist got the start it needed -- on the road, against a tough opponent -- as it pushed out to a nine-point advantage, 24-15, on a Kevin McLaughlin Jr. 3-pointer with 7:14 to play in the opening half.
• Dante Burden would lead the way over Methodist's opening 20 minutes, scoring 10 points, pulling down three rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists.
• A problem that would haunt the Monarchs in the half and then later in the second half, were the three fouls Garren Dearman was whistled for in just eight minutes of action. Methodist would get just two points from its second-leading scorer (14.5 points per game) in the opening stanza.
• The Monarchs were forcing turnovers, nine, and using those opportunities to not only score 10 points of their own, but also slowing down any rally from the Scots.
• Late in the half, however, Covenant pulled even for the first time, at 29-29. Burden drained a trey from deep in the right corner to elevate Methodist back into the lead, but the Scots scored the final four points of the half to tote that one-point lead into the break.
• Covenant scored first in the second half, but Methodist kept the deficit within reach of a comeback over the initial four minutes, pulling to within four, 42-38, on a Kaymon Mitchell layup.
• A 3-pointer from Tavian Roundtree was the Scots' answer, points that went unanswered allowing James Mitchell to knock down his own trey to suddenly build a 10-point cushion for Covenant.
• A jumper from Burden after a Sam Mingledoff defensive rebound cut the margin to eight, 54-46, minutes later, but the Scots would outscore Methodist 23-7 over the final nine minutes to ice the home-court victory.

LEADERS

• Burden capped his night with a team-high 18 points, while Mitchell chimed in with 12.
• Mingledoff pulled down a Moncarchs-best eight rebounds, five off the defensive glass.
• Covenant big man Will Crumly, the Scots' 6-foot-9 post player, registered a double-double to lead all scorers with 29 points while coming away with a game-best 13 rebounds.
• The Scots also got scoring help from James Mitchell's 15 points -- all from behind the 3-point arc -- and Bailey Spragg's 11.
• Methodist did not shoot poorly in the game (42 percent from the floor), it was just that Covenant registered a 51 percent evening from the floor, a 79 percent night from the charity stripe, and won the rebounding battle, 36-26.
• The Monarchs finished with a game-best 36 points in the paint and 15-10 advantage in second-chance points.

NEXT UP

• Methodist gets an eight-day break before its next game, against visiting William Peace University on Saturday, Jan. 19.
• Covenant is back on the court in less than 24 hours, hosting William Peace in a Saturday-afternoon league contest.