Men's Basketball Falls at Catawba

SALISBURY, N.C. – The Lions' men's basketball team lost to Catawba 86-63 Saturday evening on the road in Goodman Gym. Mars Hill fell to 7-9 overall and 2-8 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Indians improved to 7-8 on the season and 5-5 in the league.

Michael Carson led MHU with 15 points followed by Isaiah Cuthbertson with 13 points and five rebounds. Justin Yeargin was the only other player for the Lions in double-digits with 10 points.

Kijuan Arrington scored a game high 30 points to pace Catawba. He added nine boards while hitting 10-15 field goal attempts as well as connecting on 5-6 shots from behind the arc. Jerrin Morrison was the only other player that posted double-figures in scoring for the Indians tallying 14 points. Catawba scored 36 points in the paint, 23 off Mars Hill miscues and 14 points off the break.

Catawba jumped out to a 47-34 lead.  A layup from Arrington had given the Indians an early 18-7 edge before Mars Hill cut the margin to five on a three-pointer by Kevin Haynes at the 7:45 mark.  Arrington followed with consecutive three-pointers and two free throws to push the Catawba lead back to 11 at 31-20.  

Mars Hill was never able to cut the margin to single digits in the second half.  A five-point run by the Lions midway through the half got the visitors within 54-44, but baskets by Jerrin Morrison and  Troy Warren along with a three-pointer from Dominique Henderson returned a 15-point lead at 61-46.

The Indians extended the lead to 19 points in the final minutes (2:10) which included back-to-back scores by Arrington and Morrison. 

Catawba shot 48-percent from the floor and committed just eight turnovers.  The Lions connected on just 33-percent of their field goal attempts and suffered 17 turnovers.

Mars Hill will host Lincoln Memorial University, currently ranked second in the NABC Division II national poll, on Wednesday, January 21. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Stanford Arena.