Men's Basketball Falls to No. 13 LMU
The Lions were defeated 110-71 in Stanford Arena by no. 13 Lincoln Memorial in both teams SAC opener.
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions were defeated 110-71 in Stanford Arena by no. 13 Lincoln Memorial in both teams SAC opener. Mars Hill fell to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the SAC. The Railsplitters improved to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in the conference.
Jalen Witherspoon led MHU with 15 points followed by Isaiah Cuthbertson with 12 points and a team high six rebounds. Kevin Haynes came off the bench to add 10 points.
Keenan Peterson led LMU with a double-double scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Paul Woodson came off the bench to record a double-double of his own scoring 12 points and pulling down the same number of rebounds. Vincent Bailey added 13 points and nine boards.
LMU scored 60 points in the paint, 31 off MHU miscues, 22 second chance points and 24 points off the break. The Railsplitters outrebounded the Lions, 55-40. LMU connected on 50.6% (41-81) of their shots while the Lions made only 31.7% (19-60) of their attempts.
Lorenza Ross hit a layup at the 18:49 mark to give LMU a 2-0 lead and the Railsplitters would never trail again. LMU took their biggest lead of 24 points (37-13) in the first half with 7:29 on the clock after Chance Jones hit a shot in the lane. The Railsplitters enjoyed a 16-point lead (47-31) at the intermission.
The second half belonged to the Railsplitters. LMU started the second frame on a 7-2 run to lead by 24 points (57-33) after Jones hit a shot from behind the arc. A layup by Witherspoon brought the Lions within 19 points (59-40) with 16:52 left in the game but that was as close as MHU would get. The Railsplitters quickly went on a 5-0 run in just over a minute of play to go ahead 24 points (64-40) when Ross hit a layup at the 15:48 mark. LMU went on to lead by as many as 37 points (99-62) with 3:41 left in regulation after Ray Mobley hit a 3-pointer. The Railsplitters closed out the game outscoring the Lions 11-9 to make the final tally, 110-71.
Mars Hill will play at SAC rival Catawba College on Saturday, November 23. Tip-off in Salisbury, N.C. is set for 4 p.m.