FERRUM, Va. — Daryl Hart converted 6-of-11 from downtown on his way to 22 points, but it was not enough as Methodist University escaped with a 79-72 USA South victory over Ferrum College on Saturday evening inside Swartz Gymnasium.

The Panthers grabbed their final lead at the 6:08 mark of the opening stanza following a Lamont King layup, but MU closed the half with an 18-5 run to go ahead 33-22 at intermission. King reached double figures with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Monarchs extended their advantage to 41-27, less than five minutes into the second half. However, the Black and Gold would not go away as T.J. Parker's trey cut the deficit back to single digits, 43-34, with 11:58 remaining in the contest.

Hart was able to pull the Panthers (13-10, 6-5 USA South) within four, 76-72, with 11 seconds to go after his sixth and final 3-pointer. MU had an answer, however, as the visitors converted 3-of-4 free throws in the waning seconds to seal the road win.

Behind Hart's 22 was fellow senior Marcus Mayo with 19 points. Mayo passed Greg Smith (1,151 points) for ninth place on the all-time career scoring list during the game. The Rockbridge County product now has 1,165 career points. Mayo also dished out eight dimes.

FC shot 46 percent for the game on 29-of-63 shooting, while the Monarchs (8-16, 5-6 USA South) shot 49 percent. MU made 35 trips to the free throw line, making 27 for a 77.1 percent clip.

James Whitehead led the way for Methodist with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Bryan Hockaday added 20, while Terrell Stallings and Mark Jernigan posted 12 and 11, respectively.

Coach Bill Tharp's squad will step out of conference play for a challenging road date with Randolph-Macon College on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The Yellow Jackets beat No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan College on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The non-conference tilt tips at 7 p.m.