Men's Basketball Wins Home Opener
The Lions defeated Crown College 115-54 in non-conference men’s basketball action Thursday night in Stanford Arena
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions defeated Crown College 115-54 in non-conference men's basketball action Thursday night in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill won their home opener to improve to 1-2 on the season. Crown fell to 0-6 overall.
Patrick Monroe led the Lions with 23 points hitting seven 3-pointers. He also pulled down a game high eight rebounds. Tyree Griffin followed with 17 points while Justin Yeargin added 12 markers. Valentine Baur tallied eight points, seven assists and five steals. Mars Hill hit 53.5% (46-86) from the floor and 41.2% (14-34) from behind the arc. MHU won the rebound battle, 46-34. The Lions scored 56 points in the paint, 46 points off Crown miscues and received 48 points from their bench.
Chad Mainous led Crown with 20 points. Luke Dalton added 17 points and six boards. Crown connected on only 36.5% (19-52) of their shots from the floor and turned the ball over 36 times.
Yeargin hit a 3-pointer with 18:50 left in the first half and the Lions led wire-to-wire. MHU led 10-0 at the 17:28 mark after Monroe hit a long-range jumper. The Lions led by as many as 34 points (55-21) with 2:16 left in the first period after Michael Carson hit a 3-pointer. A 3-pointer by Monroe at the buzzer gave the Lions a 60-26 halftime advantage.
Mars Hill opened the second half outscoring Crown 22-8 to lead by 48 points (82-34) with 14:22 left in regulation after Brandon Bilbija hit a shots in the lane. The Lions cruised down the stretch to the 61-point victory.
As a team. Mars Hill recorded four blocks and 19 steals while only turning the ball over eight times. Fifteen players scored in the contest for Mars Hill.
The Lions will host Pfeiffer on Saturday, November 21. Tip-off is set for a 4 p.m. start.