After losing three straight and four of their last five games, Methodist has now won two straight to improve to 6-4 overall. The victory was also a measure of revenge for an 85-43 Monarch defeat at Catholic last season.
In a close, tight contest, neither team held more than a seven-point lead. Methodist won despite the fact Catholic converted more free throws (25) than Methodist attempted (13).
The Monarchs jumped out to an early 14-7 lead before Catholic answered with an 8-0 run to take a 15-14 lead on a Pat Satalin 3-point basket. The Cardinals increased the lead to 24-18 at the 5:17 mark on a Scott Fumai 3-point basket, but Methodist rallied with a 10-4 run to tie it 28-28 with 1:48 remaining. Seth Thomas and Eugene Grant both drained 3-point baskets in the rally.
However, Catholic went on a 6-0 run to close out the half with a 34-28 lead.
The turning point in the game, however, came with 5:37 remaining. Catholic led 54-49 and had possession, but Satalin lost control of his dribble and caused the turnover. The Monarchs responded with consecutive lay-ups by Dragan Radmanovic and a 3-point basket by Seth Thomas to tie the game at 56-56 with 2:20 remaining.
Sam Porter’s crucial 3-point basket on the next possession gave Methodist a lead it would not relinquish. Down the stretch, the Monarchs converted five free throws to seal the victory and the championship. In the second half, Methodist limited Catholic to only three field goals and 19 percent shooting from the field.
Thomas paced Methodist with 14 points, garnering All-Tournament honors, while Radmanovic broke out of a recent slump with 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Porter scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and had five assists to garner tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
For Catholic (8-4), Satalin scored 16 points to pace the Cardinals, followed by Shane Sowden with 13 points and Fumai and Mike Wasilenko each scored 10 points.
Methodist returns to the Riddle Center on Monday, playing host to Piedmont at 7 p.m.