The victory evens Methodist’s overall record at 7-7 and 3-1 in the USA South. The Monarchs are now tied with Christopher Newport for second in the USA South. Methodist has now won six straight head-to-head against Chowan.
The Monarchs never trailed, but couldn’t seem to put away the dangerous Braves. Methodist shot 60 percent (6-for-10) from 3-point range in the first half, and made most a key moments in the half.
After two Bobby Womack free throws, Eddie Lamar drained a 3-point basket at the 11:31 mark, increasing the Monarch lead to 20-15. The Braves then cut the deficit to one point on consecutive baskets by Trayvon Lathan and Womack, but Methodist responded with consecutive 3-point baskets by Seth Thomas to lead 26-19 at the 9:33 mark.
A Sam Porter lay-up gave the Monarchs their largest lead of the first half, 35-25. Lamar then nailed a 3-point basket with five seconds remaining to give Methodist a 40-32 lead at halftime.
Chowan trimmed the deficit early in the second half to four points, 44-40 on three straight free throws by Lathan. But Methodist responded with a 13-4 run over the next three minutes. Lamar started the rally with a 3-point play, and consecutive baskets by Arthur Hatch gave the Monarchs a 57-44 lead with 10:11 remaining.
Eugene Grant drained a 3-point basket at the four-minute mark, increasing the Methodist lead to 62-53.
Porter recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Lamar scored 12 points off the bench. Hatch recorded his third straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 center also recorded six blocked shots to bring his Methodist career record to 273. That puts him second all-time in the USA South Athletic Conference and tied for 11th all-time in NCAA Division III.
Thomas added 10 points for Methodist.
Lathan paced Chowan (6-8, 1-3) with 16 points, while Wayne Hambrick scored 15 points.
Methodist plays the first of three straight road games on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at rival North Carolina Wesleyan.