RALEIGH, N.C.  Playing on the road against host William Peace University, Methodist men's basketball was stunned by the Pacers, 93-79, in both teams' USA South Athletic Conference season opener Saturday afternoon. The Pacers win comes despite an outstanding performance from Kaymon Mitchell, who recorded his first double-double of the year with a season-high 24 points and 14 rebounds.

With Methodist leading 53-51, William Peace went on a 14-0 run to take charge of the game with 12 minutes remaining in the second half. That run was the difference in a game that was decided by exactly 14 points.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: William Peace def. Methodist, 93-79
Records: Methodist 3-4 (0-1 USA South), William Peace 1-6 (1-0)
Location: Hermann Athletic Center; Raleigh, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• This game was decided at the charity stripe and behind the arc. Methodist went 2-of-16 from deep (and 0-11 in the second half) while Pacers went 10-of-31. William Peace also outpaced the Monarchs at the free throw line, going 31-of-37 compared to 19-of-23 for Methodist.
• After the Monarchs took a 45-40 lead into halftime, the Pacers, behind Trey Bryant's 15 second half points and Beau Bryant's 11 outscored Methodist 53-34 over the final 20 minutes of game time. Mitchell did his best to right the ship for the Monarchs, scoring 18 of his 24 in the final period.
• It was not until with three minutes remaining that Methodist managed to get the deficit back under 10 points with Garren Dearman's layup cutting the score to 82-73. It was a seven-point, 86-79 game when Mitchell scored on a layup with 1:18 left but that was the closest the Monarchs came as the Pacers finished the game on a 6-0 run.
• Mitchell opened the second half making both of his free throws and then adding a layup to balloon Methodist's lead to 49-42, their largest advantage of the game. A 9-2 Pacers run was punctuated by Camden Ferguson's three to tie the game at 51. Burden broke the tie with a layup on the following possession before William Peace's game-altering run.
• The Pacers started the game on fire, taking an early 10-0 lead off the strength of making four of their first five shots, including two makes from downtown. 
• Kevin McLaughlin Jr.'s three-pointer woke the Monarchs up and cut the deficit to 14-8. He added two more baskets before Burden gave Methodist its first lead at 20-19. After trading buckets and trading the lead several times, the Monarchs closed the first half on a 13-4 run for a 45-40 edge.

STAT FACTS

• The loss comes despite Methodist topping William Peace in several categories, such as points off turnovers (23-18), turnovers (15-20), second chance points (14-12), points in the paint (42-30), and fast-break points (14-4).
• McLaughlin Jr. tied his career-high with 15 points while his four steals is a new personal-best. He also added three assists.
• Burden finished with 12 points, five assists (a team-high), and three steals.
• Calvin Manley and Sam Mingledoff each provided nine points, two steals, and a block. Manley grabbed five boards and Mingledoff three.
• Trey Bryant (20 points and 14 rebounds) and John Burwell (14 and 14) finished with double-doubles to lead the Pacers.

UP NEXT

• The Monarchs play host to Huntingdon College in conference action December 17 at 2 p.m.
• William Peace hosts Piedmont College in conference play December 17 at 2 p.m.