January 29, 2006
Late-game errors hurt Methodist in 75-72 defeat at Shenandoah
Lee paces Methodist with 16 points in USA South road defeat

WINCHESTER, Va. – The Methodist Monarch men’s basketball team concluded the first half of its USA South Athletic Conference with another disappointment on Sunday – a 75-72 defeat at Shenandoah. The defeat, the fifth straight for the Monarchs, drops Methodist to 4-14 overall and 2-4 in the USA South.

Leading by one point at the break, Methodist controlled much of the second half, leading twice by eight points. In fact, the Monarchs led 68-62 on a lay-up by Antwin Shuford with six minutes remaining.

That’s when Shenandoah mounted its game-winning rally. The Hornets responded with a 3-point basket by Antwon Townsend to cut the Monarch lead to 68-67 with 4:41 remaining. And then two free throws by Mouktar Fawehinmi gave Shenandoah the lead for good, 69-68 with 3:18 remaining.

The Hornets increased the lead to three points on an offensive rebound and lay-up by Steven Johns with 46 seconds remaining.

Twice the Monarchs trimmed the lead to one point, and had a golden opportunity to win the game with eight seconds remaining on a Shenandoah turnover. However, Methodist turned the ball back over on the inbounds pass, and Johns was fouled with six seconds remaining.

Johns missed both free throws, and Methodist retained the rebound. But the Monarchs again turned it over, throwing away the outlet pass with three seconds remaining.

If there was an omen to the game for the Monarchs, it occurred during pregame when Methodist was hit with a technical foul for dunking during warm-ups. Jared Hale sank both the free throws, and Shenandoah had a 2-0 lead before the opening tip. The Hornets raced out to a quick six-point lead before Methodist regained its composure.

Fred McDonald gave the Monarchs their first lead 14-13 on a fastbreak lay-up at the 12:15 mark. After Shenandoah rallied to tie the game at 22-22, the Monarchs responded with a jump shot by Marchise Jones and a 3-point basket by Dragan Radmanovic to lead 27-22 with 5:53 remaining.

Two free throws by Radmanovic gave the Monarchs a 35-27 lead with 3:46 remaining, and then Robert Lee increased the lead to 10 with a jump shot at the 2:56 mark. However, Shenandoah closed out the half with an 11-2 run to trail 39-38 at halftime.

Lee paced Methodist with 16 points, while McDonald scored 10 points off the bench and Seth Thomas and Radmanovic each added nine points. For Shenandoah (9-8, 1-5), Jeremiah Lawrence scored 18 points, followed by Townsend with 13 points and Fawehinmi with 12 points.

Methodist is home on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against Greensboro at the Riddle Center.