Men’s Basketball Loses at Limestone

GAFFNEY, S.C. - Three Lion players scored 20 points or more apiece but Mars Hill lost at Limestone College in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon, 97-82 in Timken Gym. MHC fell to 4-5 overall while Limestone improved to 6-2 on the season.

Dion Malachi led MHC with a double-double, scoring 26 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. He added three blocks. Malachi leads the South Atlantic Conference in total blocks with 20 in nine games played. Sammy Emile followed with 22 points including three baskets from behind the arc. Donterious Hughes had 20 points, four assists and the same number of rebounds.

Jarrell Douglas came off the bench to score a game high 30 points to pace the Saints. Michael Barrett added 19 points while Danny Friend recorded 15 points and nine boards.

Limestone hit 52.5% (32-16) of their shots from the floor as opposed to the Lions converting on 43.8% (32-73) of their attempts. MHC won the rebound battle, 43-35. Twenty-six (26-32) of the Saints points came at the foul line.

The Saints jumped out to a seven-point lead (12-5) at the 16:30 mark after Douglas hit a layup. Limestone extended their first half lead to 11 points (33-22) with 6:39 left in the first half after Charles Blue hit a shot in the lane. MHC fought back out scoring the Saints 12-8 in the final minutes of the period to go into the locker room trailing 41-34.

After Limestone extended their advantage to 11 points (49-38) with 16:49 left in the game, the Lions went on a 9-3 run to trim the deficit to just five points (52-47) with 14:25 left in regulation. Michael Barrett then spear-headed a Saints run, scoring seven points in just over two minutes of play to give the Saints double-digit lead they would not relinquish. Limestone led by as many as 20 points (79-59) with 6:19 left in the contest after a pair of successful free throws by Stewart Clark. A 3-pointer by Emile at the 2:28 mark cut the lead to 10 points (89-79) but that was as close as MHC would get.

Mars Hill will play at USC Aiken on December 30. Game time is set for a 7:30 p.m. start. The Lions will provide a live audio webcast of the game. The Coca-Cola Tip-Off Show will begin at 7 p.m.