Second Half Run Helps Lions Defeat Hiwassee

MARS HILL, N.C.- Mars Hill used a big second half run to put away Hiwassee in the second half and earn a 93-66 victory over the Tigers in non-league action at Stanford Arena Monday night. Mars Hill improved to 6-20 on the season. Hiwassee fell to 9-18.

Trailing by two early in the second half, the Lions used a 30-4 surge over the span of nine minutes of playing time to put the game out of reach. Sammy Emile and Terrell Harris paced the Lions offensively. Emile scored 29 points on 8-of-15 shooting and dished out five assists. Harris scored 23 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Hiwassee was led by David Layne with 15 points, with Jeff Golden (12) and Brandon Carpenter (11) also reaching double figures for the Tigers.

After trailing the entire game, Hiwassee opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 49-47 lead with 17:34 to play. Golden keyed the run with six points in the paint during the opening stretch of the half.

That lead didn't last long however, and the Lions controlled play over the next nine minutes. A 6-0 mini-run helped the Lions regain the lead on a Ben Marett lay-in, Emile put-back and Khouraichi Thiam lay-in. A Tigers bucket temporarily stopped the bleeding, but the Lions ripped off another 8-0 run to take a 61-51 lead. Harris picked up four points during the run.

Another Tigers bucket temporarily halted the Lions surge, but Mars Hill responded by scoring the next 14 points to put the game out of reach. Emile and Harris combined for 11 of the points during the run, which was highlighted by an Emile fast-break dunk. When the run ended, the Lions held a 77-53 lead with 8:35 to play. The Tigers would get no closer the rest of the way. The Lions shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the second half and held Hiwassee without a field goal for nearly five minutes at one point.

On the night the Lions shot a blistering 56.5 percent (35-of-62) while holding the Tigers to 38.6 percent (27-of-70). Mars Hill out-rebounded Hiwassee 50-36 and scored 32 points off Tiger turnovers.

The Lions outscored Hiwassee 25-8 over the game's first eight minutes to build what seemed to be a comfortable lead. Harris scored 10 points during the run on a three from the corner, an old-fashioned three-point play, and a pair of lay-ups. Four other Lions scored during the run.

Hiwassee kept the outcome in doubt through much of the first half though, fighting back to within six on several occasions. Twelve points from Layne paced the Tigers with 12 points off the bench in the first half. The Hiwassee reserves provided 23 points in the half, to eight for their Mars Hill counterparts. The Tigers shot 45.9 percent in the half (17-of-37), compared to the 52.9 percent (18-of-34) clip the Lions shot at.

Mars Hill will be in action again in Salisbury, N.C. against Catawba on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.