The Monarchs’ (12-8, 8-2 USA South) received an all around performance by 6’11” senior center Arthur Hatch. Hatch scored 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked seven shots, and added two steals for Methodist.
Leading 41-37 early in the second half, the Monarchs quickly opened the lead to 20 after a 25-9 run put Averett (0-20, 0-10 USA South) on the short end of a 67-46 tally with 9:26 showing on the game clock. From that point on, the Monarchs kept the lead above 17 points.
Billy Gardner led Averett with 12 points. He also added five boards in the contest. Jerrod Harris contributed with 11 points and six rebounds, while Andrew Boor rounded out the Cougars with double figure scoring totals with 10.
Sam Porter’s 15 points followed Hatch in the Methodist scoring column. He also grabbed six boards, while Robert Lee added 10 points for Methodist. The win moves the Monarchs into first place in the USA South standings. They are currently a half of a game in front of Greensboro College.
Averett returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Shenandoah University. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m. in Winchester, VA.
Methodist vs Averett 02-11-04 7:30 p.m. at Danville, VA (Grant Center) At Danville, VA (Grant Center) METHODIST 86, AVERETT 62 METHODIST (12-8, 8-2) HATCH, Arthur 8-12 2-2 18; PORTER, Sam 7-13 1-2 15; LEE, Robert 4-6 0-0 10; GRANT, Eugene 4-8 0-0 9; THOMAS, Seth 4-7 0-0 9; RADMANOVIC, Dragan 3-3 0-0 7; LITTLE, Ivan 3-9 1-2 7; SNIPES, Jordan 1-3 0-0 3; FUHRMAN, Chris 1-1 0-0 3; JACKSON, Jonathan 1-1 0-0 3; BOOTH, Bryan 1-1 0-0 2; McEVOY, Michael 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-65 4-6 86. AVERETT (0-20, 0-10) GARDNER, Billy 6-13 0-0 12; HARRIS, Jerrod 5-10 0-2 11; BOOR, Andrew 4-11 2-2 10; BARKSDALE, Joey 2-6 3-4 8; JORDAN, Matthew 2-2 0-0 6; CAMPBELL, Calvin 1-4 2-2 5; JOHNSON, Kashif 2-4 0-0 4; WILLIAMS, Sterling 1-5 2-3 4; HAMMOND, Luke 0-3 2-2 2; HUNTER, Marcus 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-60 11-15 62. Methodist..................... 41 45 - 86 Averett....................... 35 27 - 62 3-point goals-Methodist 8-16 (LEE, Robert 2-4; SNIPES, Jordan 1-2; RADMANOVIC, Dragan 1-1; THOMAS, Seth 1-2; GRANT, Eugene 1-4; JACKSON, Jonathan 1-1; FUHRMAN, Chris 1-1; LITTLE, Ivan 0-1), Averett 5-12 (JORDAN, Matthew 2-2; BARKSDALE, Joey 1-3; HARRIS, Jerrod 1-2; CAMPBELL, Calvin 1-2; HAMMOND, Luke 0-2; WILLIAMS, Sterling 0-1). Fouled out--Methodist-None, Averett-None. Rebounds-Methodist 40 (HATCH, Arthur 11), Averett 27 (HARRIS, Jerrod 6). Assists-Methodist 22 (PORTER, Sam 6; LITTLE, Ivan 6), Averett 14 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 4). Total fouls-Methodist 11, Averett 7. A-317