DANVILLE, Va.  For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the Methodist men's basketball team is USA South Athletic Conference champions, after defeating Huntingdon, 79-73, in the league's postseason tournament-championship final Saturday evening.

Behind the play of tournament MVP Dante Burden, the Monarchs led for more than 30 minutes in a game that featured five lead changes and six ties. Burden was phenomenal again in this contest, leading the game in points (26), steals (6), assists (5), and blocks (4) as clearly the best player on the court. During the stream, one announcer proclaimed that Burden was "probably the best guard in the USA South." This tournament and this game left no doubt, Burden is.

Kaymon Mitchell joined Burden on the league's All-Tournament team.

It was fitting that Burden's jumper with 13:52 remaining gave Methodist its final lead of the game with the score at 47-46 although Huntingdon was able to tie the game twice more. A 61-58 lead with 6:31 left in the game, the Monarchs went on a 10-3 run to take full control, with a 71-61 advantage and 2:18 remaining.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Methodist def. Huntingdon, 79-73
Records: Methodist 18-10; Huntingdon 14-14
Location: Grant Center; Danville, Virginia
Event: Championship Round; USA South Athletic Conference Tournament

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ahead 74-68 with 31 ticks left, Sam Mingledoff sealed the game with a hustle play as he recovered the steal of James Harris and two passes later, Burden added the fastbreak layup and the and-one for the nine-point lead.
• Burden had a hand in all four Methodist baskets in the 10-3 run. He assisted on two buckets, had a layup of his own, and he earned the steal that led to the fourth field goal. His second assist, a three-pointer to Mitchell gave the Monarchs their largest lead of the game with the 71-61 score.
• "Championship basketball!" It was fully on display at the nine-minute mark and it featured efforts that did not show up in the statsheet. Leading 57-53 following a Calvin Manley jumper (and an assist from Burden), Burden stripped Mykel Woods of a surefire dunk. After the Hawks' inbound, Kevin McLaughlin Jr. exhibited textbook defense, bodied up, and forced a miss shot from Damien Madison without fouling. On the next Huntingdon possession, Burden recovered from a pump fake and still got a piece from behind of Jacob Champion's three-pointer from the corner.
• Senior Malik Edwards defined what it means to have "timely" points. His second field goal of the game broke a 51-51 tie and he made two free throws to break the final tie at 53-53.
• A 12-4 run to start the second half gave Huntingdon its largest lead of the game (44-40) at the 16-minute mark. 

STAT FACTS

• The Monarchs had a 24-6 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 10-0 edge in transition to offset a 21-8 deficit in second chance points.
• Burden scored 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
• Mitchell finished with 12 points, a team-high seven boards, and four assists.
• Garren Dearman had nine points and was tied for the game-high with five assists. Manley's four blocks were tied for a game-high and he added eight points and three rebounds.
• Along with McLaughlin Jr. and his 12 points, Malik Edwards was part of the bench unit. Edwards finished with seven points and two assists.
• Madison led Huntingdon with 20 points.

UP NEXT
The NCAA 2020 Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The 64-team tournament field will be announced Monday at 12:30 p.m., when the Monarchs -- one of 43 teams earning conference automatic qualifying bids into the field -- will learn the location of their Sectionals pod, and their Round 1 opponent on Friday, March 6.