Little scored a career-high 19 points as all five Monarch starters scored in double-figures, leading Methodist to an 81-72 victory over Greensboro at the Riddle Center. The victory, coupled with Shenandoah’s 74-64 victory over Christopher Newport, puts Methodist (10-8) tied with Shenandoah for first place in the conference.
Greensboro (7-10, 5-2) is a half a game behind the leaders.
Methodist shot lights out in the first half, connecting on a whopping 67 percent from 3-point range. Seth Thomas’ consecutive free throws gave the Monarchs 33-29 lead with four minutes remaining, and Little increased the margin to 35-29 on a breakaway dunk at the 3:45 mark.
Little then scored the final four points of the half, giving Methodist a 45-35 lead at halftime.
The Monarchs were close to breaking the game wide open in the second half, leading 62-46 with 14:16 remaining. That’s when Greensboro stormed back with an impressive 20-6 run to pull within two points.
In that rally, Marcellus Morgan scored 10 points for Greensboro, including two 3-point baskets. He hit his second 3-point basket at the 3:48 mark, pulling the Pride to within two points, 68-66.
However, Eugene Grant answered for the Monarchs with a jump shot in the lane, and Sam Porter and Ivan Little each hit two free throws following Methodist defensive stops. Trey Williams connected on a 3-point basket for the Pride to make the score 78-71 with 11 seconds remaining, but that was as close as Greensboro would get.
In addition to Little, Porter and Eddie Lamar each scored 13 points, and Porter recorded his fifth straight double-double with 10 rebounds. Arthur Hatch scored 12 points with six rebounds and four blocked shots and Grant scored 11 points. For Greensboro, Morgan was spectacular with 29 points, while Edward Montrell scored 11 points and Williams scored 10.
Methodist hits the road on Saturday for a 4 p.m. showdown at Ferrum.