MBB Loses Exhibition to Athletes in Action

MARS HILL, N.C. - Dion Malachi (Shelby, N.C.) and Sammy Emile (Lake Worth, Fla.) combined for 40 of Mars Hill's 79 points, but the Lions lost an exhibition game to Athletes in Action by a score of 93-79 inside Stanford Arena.

Emile opened the game for Mars Hill with a three, but Athletes in Action led for most of the first half. A layup by Ben Beran at the midway point gave Athletes in Action a 21-14 advantage.

Athletes in Action led by as many as nine points, 33-24, in the first half at the 3:28 mark off a layup by Beran. A steal and dunk by Mars Hill's Julian Mack (Morganton, N.C.) closed out the first period with the Lions trailing by seven points at 40-33.

Athletes in Action increased its lead to double-digits early in the second half and led by as many as 20 points, 70-50, at the 10:07 point before the Lions mounted a comeback. Mars Hill caught fire on a 22-7 run that was finished off by a layup by Mack.

However, the Lions would get no closer, and Athletes in Action pushed its upper hand back to double-digits, 88-78, off an old-fashioned three-point play by Johnathan Byrd with 1:12 left in the game.

Beran scored a game-high 23 points. John Vaudreiul and Luke Payne had 16 and 14 points, respectively, for Athletes in Action. Vaudreiul also had 13 rebounds in a double-double effort.

Mack finished the game with 12 points. Donterious Hughes (Morganton, N.C.) recorded 11 points for the Mars Hill.

Athletes in Action was 13-31 from behind the arc, while the Lions were only 4-18 from distance. Athletes in Action outrebounded Mars Hill, 51-36.

The Lions open the 2010 regular season at Shaw on November 12. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.