LYNCHBURG, Va.  On the final day of the Wayne Proffitt Classic, Methodist men's basketball suffered its first defeat of this young season with a 93-69 non-conference loss to host University of Lynchburg Sunday afternoon.

A day after rallying from a 13-point deficit against Hampden-Sydney College, the Monarchs were unable to recapture that magic after entering the second half down by 12 points, 47-35, against the Hornets. Dante Burden had team-highs in points (17), steals (five), and assists (three).

Dating back to last season, the Monarchs had won eight of their last nine games.

JUST THE FACTS
Event: Wayne Proffitt Classic
Location: Turner Gymnasium, University of Lynchburg; Lynchburg, Va.
Final score: Lynchburg def. Methodist, 93-69
Records: Methodist 3-1, Lynchburg 4-1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With 16:51 remaining in the game, Burden's tip-in layup cut the score to 51-42 but Lynchburg answered with a game-sealing 11-0 run to take a 63-42 lead. The Monarchs fought back within 16 points multiple times but they were never able to string together a large enough scoring run.
• At the six-minute mark in the first half, the Hornets led by 18 points (39-21) before the Monarchs responded with a 9-2 run en route to a first half score of 47-35. The run was kickstarted by a Kevin McLaughlin three, and it was sustained by four Burden steals in a three-minute span.
• J'Quan Deal notched timely threes in the first half, hitting his first bomb to cut the deficit to 20-13 and he returned three minutes later to cut a 14-point deficit to 29-18.
• From the opening bucket, Lynchburg never trailed, racing out to a 20-10 lead midway through the first half.

STAT FACTS

• Burden scored 17 on 6-of-13 shooting from the field.
• J'Quan Deal was second on the team with 12 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field and two-of-four from deep in 16 minutes of court time.
• Malik Edwards was the other Monarch in double-digits with 11 points on four-of-six shooting off the bench. His five steals were tied for a team-high.
• McLaughlin Jr. and Garren Dearman had identical statlines of nine points and three steals.
• The Hornets' offense was on fire as they shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field and 50 percent (8-of-16) from deep.
• Despite Methodist having the turnover advantage (17 MU turnovers to 26 for Lynchburg) and registering 19 steals, points off of turnovers actually favored the Hornets, 27-25.
• Rebounding has been an early-season concern for the Monarchs as they were outrebounded for the third consecutive game. Lynchburg corralled 43 boards to Methodist's 24, and had a 18-9 edge in second chance points.
• Luke Romeo, off the bench and in only 14 minutes of action, went six-of-nine from three-point range en route to a game-high 23 points. T.C. Thacker added 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field.

UP NEXT
It is a week-plus layoff for the Monarchs before they travel to Guilford, N.C. to take on Guilford College November 26 at 5 p.m. in non-conference action.