PULASKI, Tenn. – The Martin Methodist Men's Basketball team turned in a valiant effort, but ran out of gas down the stretch in a 74-59 loss to No. 17 William Carey (Miss.) University Thursday night in the Curry Christian Life Center.

The RedHawks (5-18, 4-8 SSAC) led by as many as eight points in the first half, but saw their lead evaporate down the stretch and went into the halftime break down by a 31-30 margin.

In the second half, the RedHawks kept the William Carey lead within two possessions for the opening eight-plus minutes, but eventually saw the high-powered Crusaders (16-4, 10-2 SSAC) build their lead to as many as 19 points in the game's final minutes.

Senior guard Connor Peach led the RedHawks with a season-high 15 points – all of which came via five 3-pointers. Peach was responsible for five of the RedHawks six triples on the night. Martin Methodist shot 35 percent from the floor in the loss while the Crusaders were an even 50 percent from the field.

Freshman forward JJ Jones added 11 points for the RedHawks.

Jaylen Moore led the Crusaders with a game-high 19 points. Moore scored 16 points in the second half and was 6-of-9 from the floor in the game's final 20 minutes.

The Crusaders scored 20 of their 74 points from the free-throw line as they attempted 31 shots from the charity stripe. The RedHawks went 11-of-14 from the free-throw line.

The RedHawks will return to action this Saturday, Feb. 3, when they host Blue Mountain (Miss.) College on Homecoming 2018.

The Homecoming Court will be honored at halftime of the men's contest against the Toppers. Blue Mountain suffered a 96-56 defeat to No. 20 Bethel (Tenn.) University.

Tipoff in Saturday's contest is set for 4 p.m. in the CLC.