MISENHEIMER, N.C. A valiant effort came up short on Thursday night as the Methodist men's basketball team fell to top-seeded Pfeiffer University in the semifinal round of the 2026 USA South Tournament.
KJ Brooks led the team with 16 points, but the Monarchs were outscored 93–72.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: No. 1 Pfeiffer def. No. 5 Methodist, 93–72
Records: Methodist 11–15, Pfeiffer 17–8
Location: Merner Gym; Misenheimer, North Carolina
HOW IT HAPPENED
Three of Pfeiffer's first four made shots came from behind the arc as the Falcons took an 11–4 lead.
O'Montae Daniels answered with Methodist's first triple of the game, and the Monarchs slowly made up ground before eventually taking a 24–23 lead on a
Brian Bullock layup with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half. After multiple lead changes, Pfeiffer found more success from deep and developed a 43–33 advantage with two minutes remaining in the half. With a pair of buckets from Brooks and a basket by
Tomas Stevens, Methodist was able to cut the difference to six (45–39) heading into halftime.
After a slow offensive start to the second half by both teams, the Falcons pulled out all the stops across the final 13 minutes, starting with a 10-point run that featured back-to-back three-pointers for Sean Sucarichi and Justen Gaten (who finished the night a perfect 5-for-5 from deep). Pfeiffer led by as many as 25 points, putting the Monarchs in a hole that was too deep to climb out of.
MORE TO IT
Complementing Brooks' 16 points, Daniels tallied 11 while Bullock and Stevens each produced 10.
The Monarchs were outmatched on the glass, earning just 24 rebounds to Pfeiffer's 45. The Falcons got 10 boards out of conference player-of-the-year hopeful Doug Smith, who scored just 11 points on the night but also added four assists, three blocks and two steals.
The Falcons shot the ball well in their home gym, sinking 52.3% of shots and 41.7% from long range.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs will hold their heads high as they head into the offseason after appearing in the conference tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020.
