HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Martin Methodist Men's Basketball team saw its four-game win streak snapped in a hard-fought 81-69 defeat at No. 18 William Carey (Miss.) Thursday night.

The RedHawks (7-8, 4-5 SSAC) never led in the contest, but went toe-to-toe with one of the premier teams in the SSAC. The RedHawks fell behind by as many as 14 early, but rallied to tie the contest at 51-51 with just under eight minutes to play.

All knotted up, the Crusaders (12-5, 8-1 SSAC) were able to regroup and connect on back-to-back buckets and eventually pull away for the victory.

Jordan Olison led the RedHawks with 21 points on a 6-of-13 shooting night. The senior went 3-of-7 from downtown and finished 6-of-7 at the free throw line.

Big man Dwayne Ward notched 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the defeat. Ward also added a game-high three blocks.

Malcanee Mason flanked Olison and Ward in the scoring column with 10 points.

As a team, the RedHawks struggled at the free throw line as they connected on just 16-of-29 attempts. William Carey finished 21-of-33 in their free throw attempts. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor, but the RedHawks finished just 3-of-11 from downtown, while the Crusaders connected on 8-of-17 attempts from distance.

Brandon Cranford led the Crusaders with 25 points. He connected on 5-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc.

The RedHawks will look to rebound Saturday when they travel to New Orleans to face Loyola (La.). The RedHawks won a 5-4 edge in the all-time series, but have lost three straight in the Big Easy, dating back to a 75-63 victory on Jan. 9, 2015.

Tipoff in Saturday's contest is scheduled for 4 p.m.