Brandon Monk scored a career-high 25 points, and hit the game-winning three pointer as time expired to lift the Methodist men's basketball team to an 85-82 win over N.C. Wesleyan on Wednesday evening at the Riddle Center.
Monk's three from the right wing came on an out of bounds play
after the Battling Bishops had deflected the ball out of bounds
with just over two seconds remaining. He received the inbounds pass
and took one dribble to his right, draining his first career
three-point basket over the outstretched hand of an NCWC defender.
The game-winning shot came after Josh Morrison lifted the Battling
Bishops to a 57-54 win with a late three last season.
The dramatic finish came after the Monarchs erased a 21-point
deficit in the first half and a 10-point deficit with 10:47 left in
the ballgame. Following a three pointer from Cornelius Snow that
gave the Battling Bishops a 65-55 lead at the 10:47 mark, the
Monarchs used a 12-6 scoring burst to pull within four points
(71-67) on a triple from Keemon
Ingram with 8:34 showing. NCWC quickly went back up nine
points as Snow knocked down a jumper followed by another three that
made it 76-67 with 7:18 left.
However, the Monarchs came roaring back, outscoring N.C. Wesleyan,
12-2, over the next 4:09 to take their first lead of the ballgame,
79-78, on a Monk layup with 3:09 left. Bryan
Hockaday started the run with a layup and Kyle Combs
followed with a triple off a feed from Hockaday.
Monk knocked down a pair of free throws to push the MU lead to
three (81-78) with 2:45 to play and after N.C. Wesleyan's Brandon
Givens made good on 1-of-2 free throws, MU's B.J.
Esguerra did the same giving the Monarchs an 82-79 lead
with 47 seconds to play. After the Battling Bishops turned the ball
over with 42 seconds to play, Methodist gave the ball right back
with 17 seconds on the clock and Snow knocked down a three from the
left wing to tie the game at 82-82 with 14 seconds in the contest
and set up Monk's final shot.
The Monarchs furious second-half rally came after NCWC came
running out of the gates and took an 11-0 lead less than four
minutes into the game. After MU cut the deficit to six (11-5) on a
pair of Combs free throws at the 15:18 mark, the Battling Bishops
erupted for a 24-9 scoring burst that pushed their lead to 35-14 by
the 7:54 mark of the opening half. Still trailing by 18
(42-24) with 4:45 until the break, an Ingram three ignited a 12-5
scoring run to close out the half as MU pulled to within 47-36 at
the break.
For the game, the Monarchs shot 48.3 percent (28-58) from the
field, including a blistering 61.1 percent (11-18) from beyond the
arc. Methodist also knocked down 18-of-22 free throws (.818). N.C.
Wesleyan shot 43.1 percent (31-72) for the game, hitting on 8-of-22
shots (.364) from beyond the arc and 12-of-17 (.706) foul shots.
The Battling Bishops owned a 40-35 edge on the glass and forced the
Monarchs into 22 turnovers, while turning the ball over 18 times
themselves.
Monk's career night came on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and a
perfect 8-for-8 showing at the charity stripe. He also added seven
rebounds. Ingram and Johnel
Jones each contribute 16 points, combining to shoot
12-of-16 from the field, including a combined 5-of-8 from distance.
Christian
McRae added nine points, four rebounds and two assists
and Esguerra chipped in six rebounds, six assists and a steal.
N.C. Wesleyan was led by Snow's 22 points as he knocked down
6-of-10 three-point attempts. Brandon Givens, the conference's
leading scorer at over 27 points per game, was held to 20 points,
including just five in the second half, on 7-of-23 shooting. Chris
Ford added 13 points and Josh Morrison contributed a double double
of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Monarchs are back in action on Sunday when they play at
LaGrange at 4:00 pm.