MISENHEIMER, N.C.  Pfeiffer University may have claimed a regular-season sweep of Methodist men's basketball with an 86-80 home win in USA South Athletic Conference play Sunday evening, but Wednesday, March 3 will be what truly matters.

These same two teams tip off again in the semifinals of the USA South East Division tournament. Methodist travels to Misenheimer, N.C., for a third swipe at the Falcons.

The seeding for the East Division was determined by a coin flip since N.C. Wesleyan and Pfeiffer finished with the same record (8-2) in conference and Methodist and Averett finished with the same league record (5-5). Pfeiffer lost the coin flip and the Monarchs won theirs resulting in the rubber match between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final Score: Pfeiffer def. Methodist, 86-80
Records: Methodist 5-6 (5-5 USA South); Pfeiffer 8-2 (8-2 USA South)
Location: Merner Gym; Richfield, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A basket plus the foul from Garren Dearman made it a 79-76 game with 1:07 remaining and Dearman returned with another layup with 55 ticks left to make it an 80-78 game. Craig Sabb hit a tough layup over two Methodist defenders to increase the Falcons' lead to 82-78 and Pfeiffer made their free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
• After trailing by as many as 11 points late in the second half, the Monarchs went on a 12-3 run to stage the comeback. Clayton Coe kickstarted the run with a 3, followed by seven straight fastbreak points for Methodist.
• A steal and bucket from Coe in the fastbreak gave Methodist a 52-51 lead with under 12 minutes to play, which proved to be the Monarchs' final lead. Pfeiffer responded with a 15-6 run that turned a 52-51 deficit into a 66-58 Pfeiffer lead with six minutes remaining.

THE NUMBERS
Last season, a four-game losing streak in conference action preceded the Monarchs winning the conference tournament. Methodist will hope to replicate that magic.

TOURNEY TIME
The USA South East Division semifinals against Pfeiffer on Wednesday, March 3, and potentially USA South East Division Championship on Saturday, March 6.