RALEIGH, N.C. – A second-half blitz by William Peace was too much for Methodist in an 82-62 USA South men's basketball victory at the Hermann Athletic Center on Wednesday.
Timothy Pettiford totaled 17 points and nine rebounds to lead four Pacers in double figures.
Tyler Parton added 15 points and
Beau Bryant collected 13 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals. The Pacers upped their record to 3-2 in the USA South and 8-8 overall.
Before the contest, Bryant was honored during a pre-game presentation for becoming the University's career basketball scoring leader.
"It was great to be able to honor our new leading scorer in program history with a win," Head Coach Claude Shields said. "There's always a little extra emotion in those types of games and once we worked through it – we were able to play our way and come out on top."
Michael Dulin chipped in 10 points and
Malachi Borders scored eight points off the bench for the Pacers, who outscored the Monarchs 51-29 in the second half to wipe out a two-point halftime deficit. The Pacers shot 54.8 percent from the floor including 50 percent (8 of 16) behind the three-point arc in the final 20 minutes.
The Monarchs were held to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half. They were scoreless behind the arc in the final stanza and finished the contest 1 of 11 in three-point attempts.
"I'm proud of the way our team responded in the second half! We were able to force the shots we wanted on the defensive end and push the pace offensively," Shields said.
Trailing 33-31 at the break, the Pacers exploded in the second half. They outscored the Monarchs 23-6 to suddenly take a 54-39 lead with under 12 minutes remaining. They increased their lead to 20 points around the eight-minute mark.
In the blink of an eye, the Pacers turned a tight contest into a rout.
Ryan Lominack scored six points and
Donolique Tyrell grabbed 10 rebounds to go with five points, three assists and two steals off the bench for the Pacers, who outscored Methodist 21-9 in bench points.
The Pacers dominated in the paint and the perimeter. They were 12 of 27 behind the three-point line for 44.4 percent and controlled the glass 44-32.
Derrion Hicklen scored 20 points for Methodist, which fell to 1-4 in the USA South and 3-12 overall. Though the Monarchs won the first meeting two weeks ago, the Pacers made sure there would be no repeat this time - especially in the big second half.
The Pacers will play their second home game this week on Saturday, Jan. 20. They will host Brevard inside the Hermann Athletic Center at 2 p.m.
