PULASKI, Tenn. -- No. 20-ranked Lindsey Wilson men's basketball suffered its first loss of the season on Monday, falling 97-71 to Martin Methodist (Tenn.) at the Robert E. Curry Christian Life Center.

Martin Methodist scored 10 of the first 12 points of the game and never trailed to improve to 4-0 on the season. The RedHawks increased its lead to as many as 23 points (36-13) in the opening half -- thanks in large part to a Blue Raider five-minute scoring drought midway through the half.

Lindsey Wilson (7-1) showed fight over the final six minutes of the first stanza, cutting the deficit to 10 points before trailing 44-31 at the break.

Martin Methodist regained the momentum in the second half, building a 27-point lead on its way to the win.

Lindsey Wilson ended the game shooting a higher percentage from the field than its host. The Blue Raiders connected on 43.5 percent (27-of-62) while Martin Methodist made 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the field.

The RedHawks major advantage came at the free throw line. Martin Methodist made 33 of its 42 free throws while Lindsey Wilson attempted 15 -- hitting 13 -- from the charity stripe.

Charles Sutton paced the Blue Raiders with 18 points. Marshall Griffith came off the bench for 13 points while Bryan Wallace chipped in 12. Martin Methodist's Albert Lynch poured in a game-high 26 points.

Lindsey Wilson returns to action at 7 p.m. CT, on Friday, November 18, as the Blue Raiders travel to Wisconsin-Platteville for the first of two games in the Gabe Miller Tip-off Classic in Platteville, Wis.