Men’s Basketball Loses at USC Aiken

AIKEN, S.C. - Mars Hill's men's basketball team lost to No. 13, USC Aiken, Thursday night at the Convocation Center. The Lions fell to 4-6 on the year while the Pacers improved to 8-2 on the season.

Donterious Hughes and Sammy Emile scored 20 points apiece to lead the Lions offensively. Hughes was a perfect 10-10 from the foul line. Steven Gatkuoth added his career high as a Lion with 17 points. He also tallied eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. Marshall Adams rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Lions with 12 points.

Mars Hill opened the game with a 2-0 lead, but USC Aiken was ahead 18-4 after a Alvin Brown dunk with 15:45 remaining in the first half of play. The Pacers would be ahead by double digits for most of the first half, but Mars Hill had whittled the Pacers lead down to seven at 47-40 by intermission. After a 6-2 run to start the second half, USC Aiken would lead by double digits for most of the rest of the game, going up by as many as 19 with 7:38 left in the second stanza. USC Aiken as a team shot 63.6 percent (42-for-66) from the field. Mars Hill hit 45.9 percent (28-for-61) of their shots from the floor.

Mars Hill will play at SAC rival Newberry College on January 5. MHC will provide a live audio webcast of the event. Game time is set for a 8 p.m. start. The Coca-Cola Tip-Off Show will begin at 5:30 p.m. prior to the women's game that is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.