FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  The Methodist men's basketball team fought hard in tough USA South Athletic Conference game against Mary Baldwin University on Saturday afternoon. The host Monarchs would ultimately fall to the Fighting Squirrels by a score of 85-68 in the March F. Riddle Center.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Mary Baldwin def. Methodist, 85-68
Records: Methodist 1-20 (1-9 USA South), Mary Baldwin 11-9 (6-3)
Location: March F. Riddle Center; Fayetteville, North Carolina

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Following an exchange of buckets by both sides, Quentin Hart drilled a three-pointer for Mary Baldwin in what would be the start of a 10-2 run in favor of the Fighting Squirrels. A couple of minutes later Mary Baldwin took their first double digit lead, 18-8, after a layup by Brandon Stoudamire.
• A pair of Methodist free throws by Montell Moore made the score 20-12 but the Fighting Squirrels would go on a 7-0 run, with Vernon Fraley scoring five of the points, to give them a 27-12 advantage. Two different four-point swings by the Monarchs helped keep them within 11 points but in the last three minutes of the half Mary Baldwin had some small scoring spurts themselves to take a 46-28 lead into the break.
• T.J. East tried to take it upon himself to get Methodist back in this contest by scoring the first nine team points, unfortunately the Fighting Squirrels kept responding - two three-pointers by Hart and a basket by Stoudamire - to maintain a 54-37 advantage. Another seven consecutive points by Mary Baldwin gave the team their largest lead of the game, 65-40.
• Jeremy Mull ended the Monarchs scoring drought by registering the next five points. After some exchange of buckets, the duo of East and Moore scored five points to make the score 74-57. In the remaining five minutes of the contest, the two squads each tallied 11 points before the final clock reached zeros.

MORE TO IT

• Methodist had two players that recorded a double-double, East & Moore. East finished with a game-high 24 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while Moore ended with 13 (pts) and 11 (rebs). Leading the way for Mary Baldwin was Stoudamire with a team-high 20.
• The Fighting Squirrels found there stoke from long range as they made 11 of the 21 (52.4%) their shots. The Monarchs only made two of 15 (13.3) from three-point territory.
• Currently in the small history between these two institutions, Mary Baldwin owns a 3-1 record all-time versus Methodist.

UP NEXT
Methodist goes on the road for their final two away games of the regular season starting with a game on Tuesday against North Carolina Wesleyan. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM.