Men's Basketball Tops Saints, 75-66

WINGATE, N.C. – The Lions' took their season record to 2-0 with a 75-66 victory over Limestone in men's basketball action in the second round of the OrthCarolina Tip-off Challenge hosted by Wingate University in Cuddy Arena. The Saints fell to 0-2 on the season.

Isaiah Cuthbertson led MHU with his first double-double of the season scoring 17 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. He was 5-8 from the floor and 7-10 from the foul line. Justin Yeargin followed with the same number of points, three rebounds and two assists. Patrick Monroe rounded out the double-digit scorers for Mars Hill with 15. The Lions out rebounded the Saints, 37-31, scored 11 points off Limestone miscues, 14 second-chance points and received 27 points from their bench.

Shaq Dance led all scorers with 24 points to pace Limestone. Walter Cole added 23 for the Saints.

Thomas Anderson hit a 3-pointer 17 seconds into the contest to give MHU a 3-0 advantage they would never relinquish. The Lions extended their advantage to 17 points (32-15) with 2:32 left in the first half after Michael Carson hit a jumper. The Lions would take a 13-point lead (34-21) into the locker room at halftime.

Teron Wallace started the second frame hitting a shot from behind the arc to trim the deficit to 10 points (34-24) but the Lions answered with back-to-back baskets by Jalen Witherspoon to extend the lead to 14 points (38-24) with 18:28 left in the second stanza. A 3-pointer by Yeargin put the Lions back up 17 points (51-34) with 12:34 left in the game before Limestone went on a 21-11 run over the next eight minutes to cut the Lions' lead to just seven points (62-55) after Assad Woods hit a shot at the charity stripe. That was as close as the Saints would get. A 3-pointer by Monroe with 3:04 left in regulation put the Lions up 11 points to help seal the win for MHU as they cruised down the stretch to the nine-point victory.

Mars Hill will host Piedmont International University on Monday, November 17. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.