FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – In 20 years of USA South Conference membership, Shenandoah University has played 23 men's basketball games at the March F. Riddle Center on Methodist University's campus.
The Hornets have won just two games at the Riddle Center during that time and seemingly lost contests in every way possible.
Saturday night was no different as Methodist (7-15, 4-5 USA South) rallied for a 67-66 victory.
Shenandoah (4-18, 2-7) held a 13-point lead as late as the 16:40 mark of the second and was up eight with 3:14 remaining, but saw the Monarchs steal the win.
Senior Mark Jernigan, who was suffering through a cold shooting night, hit the game-winning bucket by draining a 12-foot jumper in the middle of the lane with 3.1 seconds left for the Monarchs.
Jernigan put himself in position to hit the winning shot by making a steal and a layup at the 13-second mark to cut the deficit to one point.
Methodist then fouled Avery Green with :10 left, and Green missed the front end of a one-and-one to keep MU in it.
The Monarchs advanced the ball into their frontcourt, where they called timeout to set up what proved to be the game-winning play.
SU called time after Jernigan's shot, but turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass, sealing the win for the hosts.
Methodist needed the last-second heroics because Green, who led the Hornets with 15 points, had given SU a 66-63 lead by canning a 3-pointer 33 seconds left.
MU turned the ball over on its next possession, setting the stage for the Jernigan's steal and layup.
SU, which led 31-21 at halftime, shot just 10 of 16 from the line and missed the front end of three one-and-one opportunities in the final three minutes.
Freshmen James Bowens and Ross Heyl backed up Green with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Bowens was 3 for 3 from behind the arc and Heyl 4 for 5.
The Hornets made 11 3-pointers in the contest.
Shenandoah is off until taking on N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday in a 4:00 USA South Conference contest. This game is also Senior Day for the Hornets.
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