The victory was the third straight for the Monarchs, who improve to 7-4 overall. It also avenges a 103-89 victory by Piedmont on Dec. 13. In addition, it was a homecoming of sorts for Piedmont head coach Lee Glenn and assistant Peyton Capper, both former assistants at Methodist.
In the previous game at Piedmont, the Lions buried Methodist from the perimeter, shooting 69 percent from 3-point range. With that in mind, Methodist’s key was shutting down Piedmont from the perimeter, and it did. The Monarchs held the Lions to 29 percent (5-for-17) from 3-point range, while outrebounding Piedmont 42-28.
Methodist never trailed, but couldn’t seem to shake off the pesky Lions. Piedmont trimmed the Methodist lead to three points on four occasions in the first half, the last on Kyle Kemmerer’s free throw with 4:10 remaining. However, two straight 3-point baskets by Jonathan Jackson extended the Monarch lead to 35-27 lead at halftime.
Piedmont trimmed the Methodist lead to five points in the second half, 45-40 on a Brent Walker free throw at the 13-minute mark. However, Porter took over from that point. He converted two straight inside lay-ups, extending the Monarch lead to nine points. Another Jackson 3-point basket capped off a 9-2 run and increased the lead to 54-42 with 10:55 remaining.
Piedmont couldn’t get closer that eight points after that.
In addition to Porter, Jackson scored 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the 3-point range for Methodist, while senior forward Bryan Booth equaled his career high with 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Seth Thomas added nine points, and Eugene Grant dished out seven assists.
For Piedmont (6-7), Walker and Kemmerer each scored 11 points.
Methodist opens USA South Athletic Conference play on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., playing host to rival Greensboro at the Riddle Center.