News Release

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. — The Methodist Monarch men’s basketball team lived up to its preseason hype in its season opener on Friday night, destroying Cabrini 95-56 in the C.P. Dean Classic at Hampden-Sydney. The victory was the 75th in the coaching career of Methodist’s David Smith, and he becomes the fourth Monarch head coach in program history to achieve the milestone.

The 39-point difference was also the largest margin of victory for the Monarchs since a 90-45 rout over Ferrum in the 2002-03 season.

Methodist broke open a close seven-point halftime lead with 55 points in the second half. The Monarchs shot 48 percent from the field in the second half after shooting 55 percent in the first half, and 73 percent from the free throw line in the second half.

Junior wing Seth Thomas paced the Monarchs with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field as four Methodist players scored in double-figures. Senior forward Sam Porter picked up where he left off last season with a double-double – 17 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman point guard Marcus Hairston made an impressive Monarch debut with 18 points and four assists.

In addition, freshman forward Chris Mark scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench. For the game, Methodist shot 51 percent from the field and outrebounded Cabrini 46-31.

Messiah Reames scored 16 points for Cabrini.

Methodist meets host Hampden-Sydney in the championship of the C.P. Dean Tip-Off Classic on Saturday at 4 p.m. Hampden-Sydney struggled, but knocked off Clarke 72-64 in the first game on Friday.