Men's Basketball Falls to Saints

BELMONT, N.C. – The Lions lost to Limestone 86-82 in men's basketball action Saturday evening in the Wheeler Center on the campus of Belmont Abbey College. It was the second round of the Conference Carolinas/South Atlantic Conference Challenge. Mars Hill fell to 0-2 on the season while the Saints improved to 1-1 on the year.

Tyree Griffin posted a double-double for Mars Hill with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Carson followed with 17 points while Justin Yeargin added 16. Patrick Monroe and Valentine Bauer rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points each. The Lions converted 38.9% (28-72) of their field goals, 42.3% (11-26) of their 3-point attempts and 65.2% (15-23) of their foul shots. The Lions lost the battle of the boards, 51-43.

Shaq Dance led all scorers with 29 points followed by Kenshay Kirksey who posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Brolin Floyd tallied 18 points and eight boards. Limestone scored 34 points in the paint. The Saints shot 40.6% from the floor, 28.1% from behind the arc and 77.8% from the free throw line.

Limestone jumped out to an 8-2 lead with 17:30 left in the first quarter after Macoumba Kane hit a jumper. A Carson 3-pointer with 9:45 left in the first half capped off a 27-18 run by the Lions to give MHU a 29-24 advantage. A layup by Kane gave Limestone a 34-31 lead with 7:09 on the clock after the Saints outscored the Lions 10-2 over the next two minutes of play. The Lions answered going on a 16-8 run to close out the half and send the teams into the locker room at the intermission with the Lions leading by five (47-42).

Mars Hill led by as many as nine points on three occasions in the second half. Then after a strong comeback by the Saints, a 3-pointer by Teron Wallace gave Limestone the lead for good with 6:29 left in regulation. Limestone's largest lead in the second frame was five points after Kane connected on two free throws. The Lions would not give up. They cut the lead to one point with 1:08 on the clock after Brandon McCarter hit a long-range jumper but that was as close as MHU would get. Trailing by three points, MHU had one more chance to tie the game but a 3-pointer attempt by Monroe missed its mark. MHU was forced to foul and Tim Straughter hit 1-2 free throws to make the final score 86-82 in favor of the Saints.

Mars Hill will play an exhibition game at UNC Asheville on Wednesday, November 18. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.