FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. The Methodist men's basketball team cruised to a 67–55 victory over William Peace University on Wednesday evening,
shooting 50% from the field in the second half with a 6-for-9 mark from deep during that span. The Monarchs were active on defense, forcing 19 turnovers while holding the Pacers to a 20% clip from beyond the arc on the night.
With seven wins through 14 games, the Monarchs have already matched their win total for the entire 2024–2025 season. It's the fastest the team has reached seven wins since the 2019–2020 season. This is also the team's first three-game win streak under head coach
Aloysius Henry, as well as the team's best four-game start to conference play with Henry at the helm.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Methodist def. William Peace, 67–55
Records: Methodist 7–7 (3–1 USA South), William Peace 6–9 (0–4 USA South)
Location: March F. Riddle Center; Fayetteville, North Carolina
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Monarchs never trailed on Wednesday night, with
Tre' Williams scoring the first basket before the Pacers answered to tie the score at 2–2 (the only time the Monarchs weren't in possession of the lead). A Williams three-pointer a few minutes later helped propel the team on a scoring run that created an 18–9 advantage with nine and a half minutes left in the first half. Methodist's nine-point edge shrank to just a two-point difference as William Peace rallied back, but a jumper by
Tomas Stevens inside the final minute pushed the Monarchs ahead by six. On the final possession of the period, Pacers big-man Chuks Ezeonu scored a tip-in bucket as time expired, making the score 29–25 at the break.
KJ Brooks knocked down the first shot of the second half, scoring from outside the perimeter to get the crowd fired up. Williams wasn't far behind, making a triple of his own to give Methodist a 10-point lead. A few trips down the court later,
O'Montae Daniels joined in on the three-point party, making the score 42–29 and inspiring the Pacers to utilize a timeout with 16:15 remaining still on the clock.
Following the stoppage, William Peace cut the margin to eight, but Brooks was good for another three-pointer. With the team warming up from downtown,
Deuce Rice tried his luck from behind the arc, sinking a shot to make the score 50–36 with just under 12 minutes to go. Minutes later, back-to-back buckets by
Sean O'Connor stretched Methodist's lead to 15, but the hot-shooting Monarchs didn't let off the gas until their lead reached 20 points (63–43 with six minutes left).
MORE TO IT
Brooks finished the night with a game-high 16 points and co-led the team with six rebounds. The Monarchs were heavily out-rebounded as a team, bringing in just 29 boards while the Pacers logged 51 rebounds — tied for the most the Monarchs have conceded this season.
Williams tallied a team-best three makes from deep on six attempts, helping him reach 11 points, which he paired with an additional stat line of three rebounds, one steal and a team-high four assists.
While the Monarchs outplayed the Pacers, they did also benefit from poor free-throw shooting. William Peace sank just 40% of its shots from the charity stripe, making six of 15 attempts.
UP NEXT
With the three-game homestand in the books, the Monarchs now have consecutive road games starting with a trip to Mary Baldwin University on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff in Staunton, Virginia.
