Visiting Chowan shot 54 percent and held off a furious Methodist rally in the second half to prevail 77-70 in non-conference action on Saturday at the Riddle Center. The defeat drops the Monarchs to 17-5 overall. However, with Ferrum defeating Shenandoah 69-65 at Ferrum, the Monarchs claim the USA South regular season title for the third straight season.
The defeat spoiled Senior Day for Monarchs seniors Bryan Booth and Sam Porter, both playing their final regular season games at the Riddle Center.
Taking to the basket in the first half, Chowan built a 31-19 lead on Cedric Armstrong’s lay-up at the 5:35 mark. The Braves took a 12-point lead two more times before Montino Williams’ off-balanced 3-point basket gave Chowan its largest lead, 40-24 with 1:28 remaining.
Trailing 40-27 at halftime, Methodist made a furious rally. With Robert Lee scoring twice in transition, Methodist opened the second half on a 15-4 run to trim the Braves’ lead to 44-42. However, every time the Monarchs were within striking distance, Chowan had an answer.
The Braves twice increased the lead to eight points, and Williams scored twice in the lane to give Chowan a 73-67 lead with 1:27 remaining. Methodist trimmed the deficit to 73-70 on Porter’s lay-up with 1:12 remaining, but that was as close as the Monarchs got.
Sophomore forward Dragan Radmanovic scored a career-high 19 points for Methodist on 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, while Porter recorded his seventh straight double-double with 15 points and 19 rebounds. Seth Thomas also scored 15 points for the Monarchs, and Booth added 10 points.
Williams paced Chowan (12-11) with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, followed by Armstrong with 16 points and Trayvon Lathan with 14 points.
Methodist returns to USA South action on Monday at rival North Carolina Wesleyan. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.