GREENSBORO, N.C.  With head coach Aloysius Henry playing just eight guys on Saturday, the Methodist men's basketball team came up short in a 78-57 loss to the Greensboro Pride. The Monarchs relied heavily on their starters, with four players logging over 30 minutes on the court for the second game in a row.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Greensboro def. Methodist, 78-57
Records: Methodist 3-10 (1-2 USA South), Greensboro 6-8 (2-1 USA South)
Location: Hanes Gymnasium; Greensboro, North Carolina

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Things started well for Methodist as Brone Brinson scored the first basket of the game from inside the paint. After two buckets by the Pride, Malek Ngong drained a three-pointer that evened the score at 5-5. The back-and-forth nature continued, with Zac Sledge leaping up for a dunk to give the Monarchs an 11-9 advantage just over six minutes into the half. Greensboro responded with a three to reclaim the lead, but Methodist fought diligently to remain within a two-score reach.
• A three-pointer by De'Shaun Kee tied the game again with 11:20 to go in the period. Following a tradeoff of a couple baskets between the two teams, Greensboro organized an 11-0 run that suddenly gave the Pride a 12-point advantage. The Monarchs inched back within eight points (with Brinson recording Methodist's final seven points of the half), giving Greensboro a 41-33 halftime lead.
• Methodist appeared rejuvenated out of the break, recording the first basket of the half as Kee knocked one down from deep to cut the Pride's lead down to five. Greensboro pushed back ahead by seven, then used a 12-6 run between the 'under-16' and 'under-12' media timeouts to establish a 13-point advantage.
• Greensboro slowly continued to outpace the Monarchs, surging ahead by as many as 19 points. With four and a half minutes to go, Sledge attempted his first triple of the season for Methodist and hit, softening the team's deficit to 14 points. However, the basket would prove to be the last of the outing for the Monarchs, while the Pride would score seven more points in route to collecting the 21-point victory.

MORE TO IT

• Greensboro more than doubled Methodist's rebound total, collecting 33 boards to the Monarchs' 15. The Pride had 12 rebounds on the offensive glass alone – level with Methodist's 12 defensive rebounds.
• Methodist did not draw enough fouls to make an impact at the free-throw line. The Monarchs attempted zero shots from the charity stripe during the first half and only eight in the second half.
• The Monarchs shot an excellent 68.18% from the field during the first half (15-for-22) but fell flat in the second half, making just nine shots on 25 tries.
• With a short bench, Methodist's subs scored just seven points, while Greensboro produced 33 points off the pine.

UP NEXT
Methodist has a quick turnaround before a 2 p.m. bout with Brevard on Sunday (Jan. 14). It will be the second match of Methodist's three-game road stretch.