Men’s Basketball Falls at Armstrong Atlantic

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Lions men's basketball team lost to Armstrong Atlantic State University, 109-86 in the second round of the 2011 Wingate by Wyndham Holiday Classic Saturday afternoon in Alumni Arena. Mars Hill fell to 3-8 on the year while the Pirates improved to 5-7 on the season.

Sammy Emile led Mars Hill with a game high 31 points in the contest. He added nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Austin Patton followed with 16 points connecting on 6-7 field goals in the game. Terrell Harris came off the bench to score 13 points to round out the double-digit scorers for the Lions. Khouriachi Thiam barely missed a double-double recording nine points and the same number of rebounds.

Chris Vanlandingham led the Pirates with 24 points and six rebounds followed by DeVon Jones with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Aric Miller and Mychal Horn added 17 and 16 points in the win, respectively.

In the first half, Horn hit a 3-pointer with 18:59 on the clock and AASU would never trail again. The Pirates built a 20-point advantage (35-15) at the 7:54 mark after Vanlandingham hit a layup. MHC would go on a 28-22 run to trim the deficit to 14 points (57-43) at the intermission.

MHC opened the second frame on a 19-15 run to cut the Pirates lead to just 10 points (72-62) with 11:08 left in the second half after Patton nailed a shot from behind the arc. Unfortunately, AASU answered with a 24-7 run to seal the win and take their largest lead of 27 points at the 5:33 mark after Grant Domsic hit a 3-pointer.

Mars Hill will return to action on January 4 when they host SAC rival Newberry College. Tip-off in Stanford Arena is set for a 8 p.m. start.