Methodist is tied with Averett for first place in the USA South at 2-0 heading into Tuesday’s battle for first place, and the Monarchs improve to 4-9 overall. Methodist has now won eight straight games head-to-head against Ferrum and 14 of the last 15 games against the Panthers.
The Monarchs’ talented backcourt trio of Seth Thomas, Eugene Grant and Robert Lee stepped up big against Ferrum. Thomas recorded his first triple-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Lee scored 20 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. Grant finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Lee was hot in the first half with 14 points as Methodist raced out to an 18-point lead at halftime. He hit s jump shot, followed by a 3-point basket to give the Monarchs a 34-21 lead with 3:24 remaining. Grant’s 3-point basket and a lay-up by Thomas increased the Methodist lead to 41-23 at the 1:35 mark.
The Monarchs built a 22-point lead early in the second half, but Ferrum responded with a 25-10 run to trim the Methodist lead to seven points. Rob Fuller drained three straight 3-point baskets to cut the Methodist lead 48-37. Jon Godsey then drained a 3-point basket, and Ferrum was within 58-51 with 9:41 remaining.
There was no panic in the Monarchs, however. Grant responded with a 3-point basket on Methodist’s ensuing possession, and the Dragan Radmanovic and Thomas converted lay-ups inside to make the Monarch lead 69-53 with 5:40 remaining. Lee’s 3-point basket with 3:45 remaining gave Methodist a comfortable 74-57 lead.
Radmanovic added seven points for Methodist, while Antwin Shuford grabbed nine rebounds. Fuller scored 13 points for Ferrum (4-11, 0-2), while Wayne Ford scored 11 points for the Panthers.
The anticipated showdown between Methodist and Averett is set for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Riddle Center.