Junior Zach Sloan's second double-double of the season, and a scrambling defense that denied Methodist the tying basket at the final buzzer, lifted Mary Baldwin to a 77-75 USA South men's basketball victory in Fayetteville, N.C.

Sloan had team-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds helped Mary Baldwin (10-5, 6-0 USA South) to its sixth-straight victory and, combined with Southern Virginia's first conference loss of the season Saturday at N.C. Wesleyan, lifted the defending conference champions into first place in the USA South standings.

Also sparking MBU's victory were double-digit scoring totals from junior Raymond Benton (16 pts., 6 rebs.), graduate student Quintin Hart (14 pts.) and grad student Jaden Ignacio (10 pts.).

Methodist's scoring duo of Derrion Hinklen (31 pts.) and Ke Edwards (21 pts.) combined for 52 of the Monarch's 75 points.  The hosts also used a 25-3 scoring advantage at the free throw line to help erase a 16-point MBU halftime lead (43-27) to a one-possession contest in the final minutes of the game. 

MBU never surrendered the lead, but the hosts battled the entire 40 minutes and had the ball down two points in the final eight seconds but missed several attempts that affected by the Fighting Squirrels defense and rebounders as time ran out.

The Fighting Squirrels return to action Tuesday (1/21) at Greensboro (7 p.m.), followed by a pair of home games to close out the month against N.C. Wesleyan (1/25) and Southern Virginia (1/29).