Men’s Basketball Chosen Seventh in SAC Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team was picked to finish in seventh place in the South Atlantic Conference this season, the conference office announced Friday. Dion Malachi was named to the preseason All-Conference first team.

In 2009-10, Malachi, from Shelby, N.C., ranked 11th in the league in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game. He ranked second in blocked shots at 2.48 per game, third in rebounding at 7.2 per game, and led the SAC in field goal percentage, shooting 63.6 percent.

Lincoln Memorial is the preseason favorite to win the 2010-11 South Atlantic Conference regular season men's basketball crown.

The Lions wil begin the season with an exhibition game at home against Athletes in Action on November 2 at 7 p.m. Mars Hill opens the season at Shaw University on November 12 at 7:30 p.m.

The 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament will begin on March 2 with quarterfinal games on campus sites. Winners advance to the tournament semifinals on March 5 at the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Facility in Hickory, N.C. The championship game will be March 6 at 4 p.m.

2010-11 Men's Coaches Preseason Poll

Poll (1st) Points
1. Lincoln Memorial (7) 94
2. Anderson (2) 79
3. Wingate 73
4. Catawba (1) 53
5. Newberry 50
6. Tusculum 48
7. Mars Hill 47
8. Lenoir-Rhyne 39
9. Carson-Newman 34
10. Brevard 33

Men's Preseason All-Conference

FIRST TEAM
Brandon Young, Anderson
Josh Roper, Brevard
D.J. Blackmon, Lenoir-Rhyne
D'Mario Curry, Lincoln Memorial
Dion Malachi, Mars Hill
Jamie Vaughn, Wingate

SECOND TEAM
Kevis Cornwell, Anderson
Dominick Reid, Catawba
Desmond Johnson, Lincoln Memorial
Ray Robinson, Newberry
Rob Troutman, Tusculum
Odell Turner, Wingate