FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  Garren Dearman sank the go-ahead 3-pointer with three ticks left on the clock to lift host Methodist to a 75-72 USA South Athletic Conference victory over William Peace University Saturday afternoon, tallying his only bucket from the floor in the back-and-forth league contest.

Second on the team in scoring with a 13.5 points per game average, Dearman had only one successful free throw to his credit against the Pacers' hounding defense. But he worked himself free outside the arc on the left wing as the clock ticked away and drained a trey from just inches in front of Methodist's now-delirious bench.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Methodist def. William Peace, 75-72
Records: Methodist 8-9 (6-3 USA South), William Peace 7-10 (3-6)
Location: Riddle Center; Fayetteville, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Methodist trailed early by 11 points, late in the first half by 14 and at the halftime break by eight, 40-32.
• That deficit was trimmed to just three after early action in the second half, and the Monarchs drew even then pushed ahead, 45-43, on back-to-back layups from Kaymon Mitchell, who finished with a game-high 25 points.
• Mitchell knotted the score at 43-43 with the first of those layins, then picked Paul Dunlap's pocket just past midcourt along the far sideline and raced in for the tie-breaking layup.
• From that point onward, the teams exchanged the lead six times and battled through five ties, the last of which -- at 72-72 -- with 28 seconds remaining.
• Methodist called a timeout after the Pacers' Trey Bryan converted only the second of two free-throw chances, then calmly brought the ball up court amidst the roar of the fans, which exploded to higher decibels upon Dearman's bottom-of-the-net trey.

NOTHING BUT THE (BOX) FACTS

• It was a tale of two halves for both teams as William Peace shot 43 percent from the floor in the opening half but closed out the afternoon hitting just 34 percent over the final 20 minutes. In direct contrast, Methodist hit 35 percent in the first 20, then upped that to 52 percent -- including 6-of-11 (55 percent) behind the arc -- in the second half.
• If not for Dearman's heroic bucket, Mitchell would have earned -- and might still be -- the player of the game. His 25 points were a career high while at Methodist, and his team-leading nine rebounds were just two boards off his Methodist best off the glass.
• Chris Pernell nearly reached a point-a-minute coming off the bench for the Monarchs, scoring 11 in a 12:38 of court time. Nine of those 11 points came from long range, helping Methodist's 3-point percentage in the second half.
• Dante Burden was a second-half driving force for Methodist, netting 15 of his 18 points after the break for recess.
• Bryant recorded a double-double in defeat, leading the Pacers with 16 points and leading all players with 12 rebounds.
• Camden Ferguson also reached double-figures for the Pacers, scoring 15 -- all from behind the arc.

UP NEXT

• Methodist heads to Greensboro College on Wednesday for an evening conference contest against the host Pride.
• The Pacers host Huntingdon College Saturday afternoon for a league game at the Hermann Athletic Center.