February 24, 2006
Monarchs come up short against Averett 67-64 in USA South men’s semifinals
Lee scores 17 points off the bench as Methodist concludes season 10-17

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The 2005-06 season came to a tough conclusion for the Methodist Monarch men’s basketball team on Friday as they dropped a 67-64 decision against Averett in the semifinals of the 2006 USA South Athletic Conference Tournament at Christopher Newport’s Freeman Center. The Monarchs finish the season 10-17 overall.

Methodist held a 17-14 lead midway through the first half when Averett finished the half on a 19-5 run to take a 33-22 lead at halftime. However, Methodist battled back in the second half and took a 56-54 lead on a 3-point basket by Robert Lee, capping 10-0 run by the Monarchs at the 6:50 mark.

But the Cougars retook the lead on a lay-up by Drew Boor, and increased the lead to 63-58 on Dominique Stevenson’s lay-up with 42 seconds remaining. Methodist trimmed the lead to two points, 64-62 with 22 seconds remaining on two free throws by Seth Thomas.

Averett had a chance to seal the game with 13 seconds remaining and a 66-64 lead. However, Cory McDaniel missed the one-and-one opportunity, and the Monarchs had a chance to either tie or take the lead. But Thomas’ pass to the perimeter was intercepted by Stevenson and he was fouled by Lee with three seconds remaining.

Stevenson made the first free throw but missed the second. Methodist’s Fred McDonald then fired up a 35-foot 3-point attempt which hit the rim as time expired.

Lee paced Methodist with 17 points, including 13 in the second half when the Monarchs rallied big. Seniors Thomas and Eugene Grant finished their brilliant Methodist careers with 15 points and 11 points, respectively. Averett (20-7) was led by Boor’s 18 points and six rebounds. Stevenson contributed 16 points, followed by Sterling Williams and Damien Brown with 10 points each.