Men's Basketball Loses SAC Season Opener

ANDERSON, S.C. – The Lions men's basketball squad dropped their South Atlantic Conference opener at Anderson 81-57 Tuesday night in the Abney Athletic Center. Mars Hill fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the SAC. The Trojans improved to 2-3 on the year and 1-0 in the league.

Patrick Monroe and Tyree Griffin led the Lions with 10 points apiece. Mars Hill hit only 36.5% (23-63) of their field goals and were 4-11 (36.4%) at the foul line.

Randall Shaw led Anderson with 20 points followed by Maurice Howard with 17 points and five rebounds. The Trojans out rebounded the Lions, 49-31. Anderson scored 24 points in the paint and recorded 19 second chance points.

The first 15 minutes of the game were closely played. After Brandon McCarter hit a foul shot to put the Lions ahead by three points (23-20) with 5:42 left in the first frame, Anderson scored 16 unanswered points to send the teams into the locker room at the intermission with the hosts leading 36-23.

Mars Hill would not get any closer in the second half and trailed by as many as 32 points (72-40) with 9:57 left in regulation after Jeremy Bouton hit a 3-pointer. Anderson connected on 47.5% of their attempts from the field.

Mars Hill will play at Warren Wilson on Tuesday, December 1. Tip-off is slated for an 8 p.m. start.