Anderson Holds Off Mars Hill Rally

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill men's basketball team fell 79-70 to Anderson in South Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday night in Stanford Arena. With the loss, Mars Hill drops to 2-12 and 0-9 in the league. Anderson improves to 10-5 and 5-4 for the 2013-2014 season.

Devonte Williams led the Lions with 19 points, with Kevin Haynes contributing 16 points, Carter Wright with 15 and Isaiah Cuthbertson adding 11 points. Thomas Anderson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for Mars Hill. The Lions hit a season high 12 3-pointers while also attempting a season high 37.

Chandler Hash and CJ Gleaton led the Trojans with 19 points each, with Kyle Sledge adding 13 points. Anderson tied a season high with 11 3-pointers and shot nearly 74 percent from the charity stripea.

In a back and forth first half that featured seven lead changes and two ties, Mars Hill's six point lead with 7:45 to play was the largest lead enjoyed by either team in the opening 20 minutes. Anderson took a 38-35 lead into halftime thanks to a DJ McGowan 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining.

Anderson extended its lead to a game high 15 points, 71-56 with 4:56 remaining before the Lions began to charge back. Anderson came up empty on its next four possessions while the Lions went on a 14-0 run, cutting the lead to 71-70 prior to an Anderson timeout with 2:01 left. Anderson got a layup from Chris Ross with 1:26 remaining and a three pointer from Hash with 49 seconds to play, extending their lead to six. A trio of free throws in the last 29 seconds sealed the win for Anderson.

Mars Hill concludes a two game homestand on Saturday afternoon, welcoming Catawba for a 4 p.m. start.