MISENHEIMER, N.C. (March 1, 2025) --The Pfeiffer men's basketball team won their first USA South Tournament championship in a108-80 drubbing of second-seeded North Carolina Wesleyan in front of a raucous Merner Gym crowd on Saturday night.

The Falcons (18-7) had five players score in double figures, led by Daymon Beckwith, who had 21 points and four assists.  Alex Cunningham tacked on 15 points and Donte Forrester-Jhagroo helped out with 12 points from the bench.

Pfeiffer grabbed 40 rebounds in Saturday's game compared to North Carolina Wesleyan's 38, led by six boards from Daniel Fulp.

Pfeiffer did a great job disrupting North Carolina Wesleyan shots in the contest, coming away with seven blocks. Jaylen Hamilton led the way individually for the Falcons with three rejections.

How It Happened

After jumping out to a 19-18 advantage, Pfeiffer went on a 9-0 run with 11:32 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Beckwith, to increase its lead to 28-18. The Falcons then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 44-37 advantage. Pfeiffer did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 26 of its 44 points close to the basket.

Following intermission, Pfeiffer kept widening that lead, expanding it to 67-58 before going on a 16-0 run to grow the lead to 83-58 with 7:00 to go in the contest. The Falcons kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 108-80 win. Pfeiffer got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 35 of its 64 total points.

Game Notes

» The Falcons shot well from three point range, knocking down eight of 20 long range attempts.
» Pfeiffer never trailed on the way to a 108-80 victory.
» Pfeiffer recorded 16 total assists in the game.
» The Pfeiffer bench came alive by adding 62 points to its scoring output.
» Five Pfeiffer players scored 10 or more points.
» Daymon Beckwith and Donte Forrester-Jhagroo came off the bench to score 21 and 12 points, respectively.
» Pfeiffer had a 40-38 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Falcons were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording seven blocks as a team.
» Daymon Beckwith led the Falcons with a game-high 21 points.
» Pfeiffer got a game-high six rebounds from Daniel Fulp.

Tournament Awards
Daymon Beckwith earned the USA South Tournament MVP, while Alexander Cunningham and  Jaylen Hamilton were named to the All-Tournament Team.  Joining the trio from Pfeiffer were Khalid Chavis-Hinds and Marquis Eskew from N.C. Wesleyan and Tillman Johnson of Southern Virginia.

Up Next
By winning the USA South Tournament, Pfeiffer receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, the first in program history.  The NCAA Selection Show will be broadcast on NCAA.com on Monday, March 3 at Noon.