Lincoln Memorial Holds Off Lions
The Mars Hill men’s basketball team lost the South Atlantic Conference opener to No. 23 Lincoln Memorial 79-67
HARROGATE, TENN. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team lost the South Atlantic Conference opener to No. 23 Lincoln Memorial 79-67 in Tex Turner Arena on Wednesday night. Mars Hill falls to 3-1 and 0-1 in the league while the Railsplitters improve to 3-0 and 1-0.
Isaiah Cuthbertson led Mars Hill with 16 points, followed by Thomas Anderson and Patrick Monroe with 13 points each. Cuthbertson had a game-high 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double.
Lincoln Memorial was led by Lorenza Ross with 19 points and Luquon Choice with 18. Keenan Peterson added 12 points with Gerel Simmons contributing 10.
Lincoln Memorial opened the scoring on a Peterson jumper before the Lions took a 4-2 lead thanks to a Justin Yeargin jumper and an Anderson layup. With the score tied at 8, Cuthbertson made a pair of free throws, with Choice giving the home team an 11-10 lead thanks to a 3-pointer. Bauer sank a 3-pointer to put the Lions ahead 13-11 until a Choice 3-pointer broke a 14-14 tie and started a 13-4 run to give the hosts a 27-18 lead with 7:41 remaining in the half. Mars Hill answered with a 13-5 run, cutting the Lincoln Memorial lead to 33-31 with 3:08 to play. The Railsplitters ended the half on an 8-2 run for a 41-33 halftime lead.
After the Railsplitters scored the first basket of the second half, the Lions went on a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 43-39 with 17:07 to play. Lincoln Memorial answered with an 8-0 run as the Lions went over four minutes without a basket. Following a Railsplitter turnover, Carson sank a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven, with the Lions forcing another Lincoln Memorial turnover and ensuing basket to pull within four, 51-48, with 10:45 to play. The Railsplitters responded with a 20-8 run to take a 71-56 lead with just under six minutes remaining. Mars Hill pulled to within 11, 78-67, with 1:29 remaining but would get no closer the rest of the way.
Lincoln Memorial outshot Mars Hill 53.6 percent to 36.8 percent and 50 percent to 28.6 percent from behind the three-point line.
Mars Hill welcomes Catawba to Stanford Arena on Saturday at 4 p.m.