December 6, 2005
Voorhees pressure too much for Methodist in 67-59 defeat
Radmanovic scores 17 in Monarch defeat

DENMARK, S.C. – The tough luck continued for the Methodist Monarch men’s basketball team on Tuesday as they dropped a 67-59 decision at Voorhees. The setback drops Methodist to 2-5 overall with its third straight defeat.

Methodist had difficulty against Voorhees’ changing zones. The Tigers kept switching from a 2-3 to a 1-3-1 and back again, confusing the Monarchs on the perimeter. As a result, Methodist shot only 34 percent from the field, including only 30 percent from the field.

Trailing by one point at halftime, Methodist rallied from a five-point deficit early in the second half. Consecutive 3-point baskets by Seth Thomas, mixed in with some lay-ups in the paint by Dragan Radmanovic, gave the Monarchs a 46-45 lead with 13:24 remaining.

Voorhees, however, took the lead for good on a lay-up by TaJaun Torres at the 12:19 mark. The Tigers then stretched the lead to 51-46 on consecutive lay-ups in transition by Antonio Simpson and Gilbert Allen.

Methodist twice trimmed the lead to one point, including a Fred McDonald lay-up to pull the Monarchs to 58-57 with 3:45 remaining. But Voorhees finished it with a 9-2 run to pull out the victory.

Behind two 3-point baskets by Thomas and another by Brandon Williams, the Monarchs jumped out to an early 13-5 lead. However, Simpson and Horace Cofield spearheaded an 8-0 run by Voorhees with two 3-point baskets to tie the game 13-13 at the 13:37 mark.

Methodist retook the lead temporarily. But it was Simpson again with two consecutive 3-point baskets as Voorhees took its first lead 22-19 with nine minutes remaining. Methodist reclaimed the lead 29-26 on five points from Radmanovic, but Voorhees tied again on another Simpson 3-point basket with 5:06 remaining.

Cofield scored three points in the waning minutes to give the Tigers a 34-33 lead at halftime.

Radmanovic paced Methodist with 17 points, followed by Thomas with 14 points. McDonald added nine in the defeat. Cofield scored a game-high 20 points for Voorhees (7-3), while Simpson scored 17 points and Allen added 10 points.

Methodist is off until next week due to final exams. The Monarchs return to action on Dec. 16-17 with a trip to Alabama gulf coast to play Spring Hill and Mobile.