Men's Basketball Falls at Lenoir-Rhyne

HICKORY, N.C. – The Lions lost at Lenoir-Rhyne, 87-61 Saturday night in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action at Shuford Gym. Mars Hill fell to 3-14 overall and 1-11 in the SAC. The Bears improved to 8-8 on the season and 7-5 in the league.

Devonte Williams led MHU with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Isaiah Cuthbertson followed with 12 points and seven boards. Carter Wright rounded out the double-digit scorers for Mars Hill with 10. Mars Hill hit 41.5% (22-53) of their field goals, 22.7% (5-22) of their 3-point attempts and 85.7% (12-14) of their attempts at the charity stripe.

Allan Jones came off the bench to score 18 points to lead the Bears offensively. Jarvis Perry added 14 while R.J. McClure and Mark Terrell tallied 12 points apiece. Rob Noyes and Matt Kunz recorded 10 points each in the win. The Bears shot well in the contest connecting on 63.5% (33-52) of their field goal attempts, 50% (5-10) of their shots from behind the arc and 72.7% (16-22) at the foul line.

The Bears began the game out scoring MHU, 17-5 in the first six minutes of the game. The Lions used a 15-8 run to cut the deficit to just five points (25-20) with an even eight minutes left in the first half after Devonte Williams hit a 3-pointer. L-R extended their advantage to 15 points (37-22) at the 3:55 mark after Terrell hit a shot in the lane. The Bears would take a 43-34 lead into the locker room at the break.

A jumper by Jarvis Perry gave the Bears an 11-point lead (45-34) to start the second frame and L-R would never trail by less than a double-digit margin the rest of the way. The Bears went on a 31-15 run to lead by 27 points (76-49) with 6:13 remaining in regulation after Lawrence Miller hit a shot from behind the arc. The Lions could not rally in the final minutes as the Bears went on to win by 26 points.

Mars Hill will host Tusculum College on Wednesday, January 29. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.