Trojans Rally Late to Defeat Men's Basketball

MARS HILL, N.C.- The Mars Hill men's basketball team lost 74-66 to Anderson on Wednesday in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill drops to 9-14 overall and 4-13 in the South Atlantic Conference while Anderson improves to 11-12 and 7-10.

Patrick Monroe led Mars Hill with a game-high 23 points, followed by Justin Yeargin with 15 points and Isaiah Cuthbertson with 11. Monroe went 8-for-12 on the night, including 7-for-10 from behind the three point arc.

Anderson was led by Chris Ross with 15 points and nine rebounds, followed by Maurice Howard and Myson Jones with 14 points each.  The Trojans outshot Mars Hill 47.1 percent to 42.3 percent from the field and held a 36-28 advantage on the glass.

Anderson led 12-2 at the 15:20 mark of the first half before a Cuthbertson layup brought the Lions to within five, 12-7, with 14:06 to play. The Trojans went on a 7-0 run for a game-high 12 point lead (19-7) before the Lions went on a 14-3 run to tie the contest at 21 following a Monroe 3-pointer with 6:39 to go in the half. Tre' Fields' 3-pointer began an 8-1 Trojan run for a 29-22 lead with just over three minutes to play in the half. Anderson led 33-28 at the break.

A pair of Jones free throws gave Anderson a 37-31 lead before consecutive 3-pointers by Carson and Monroe tied the contest at 37 with 17:34 to play. Cuthbertson's layup with 14:54 remaining gave Mars Hill their first lead of the game, 39-38. The teams traded the lead three times with no more than a three point advantage for either before consecutive 3-pointers from Yeargin gave Mars Hill a 60-54 lead with 5:59 to go.

The Trojans responded with a 5-0 run to take a 61-60 on a Howard layup with 4:38 remaining. The Lions tied the contest at 64 with a Cuthbertson layup at the 3:06 mark. Howard's layup with 2:16 to play gave Anderson a 66-64 lead as the Lions went cold, missing their next three shots while the Trojans pulled ahead to a 69-64 advantage. Cuthbertson's layup with 29 seconds brought the Lions to within four, 70-66, but Anderson sank their final four free throw attempts to seal the victory.

Mars Hill travels to Queens on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff.