Men's Basketball Defeats Catawba, 71-70

MARS HILL, N.C. – Justin Yeargin's three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining proved to be the winning basket as Mars Hill topped visiting Catawba 71-70 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Stanford Arena. The Lions improve to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the SAC, while the Catawba Indians fall to 3-4 and 2-2.

Brandon McCarter led the Lions with 15 points shooting 6-9 from the floor. He added a block and two steals playing only 18 minutes. Justin Yeargin followed with 14 points while Jalen Witherspoon and Michael Carson tallied 10 points apiece. Mars Hill connected on 42.2% of their shots from the floor (27-64), 23.3% from behind the arc (7-30) and 52.6% (10-19) from the free throw line.

Jameel Taylor led all scorers with 21 points. Julian Simpson and Rakeen Brown rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Indians as they recorded 14 and 10 points in the loss, respectively. Catawba won the battle of the boards, 44-37. The Indians scored 42 points in the paint. The game saw nine ties and 11 lead changes.

After Yeargin put the Lions on top, Catawba's Rakeen Brown drove the lane, but missed.  Catawba had one last shot after getting a tie up on the rebound with just .9 seconds left.  Mars Hill was able to intercept the inbound pass to grab the win.

The final sequence ended a second half that saw the lead change hands seven times over the final eight minutes.  Mars Hill used a 7-2 spurt to go up 59-56 with 6:43 left.  Jameel Taylor tied it with a three-pointer then put Catawba back on top with a layup at the 5:48 mark.

Mars Hill retook the lead on a basket by Kevin Haynes and pushed the margin to 64-61 on two free throws from Jalen Witherspoon.  Catawba would rally and pull even at 68 on a three-pointer by Brown with 2:37 to go. 

Brown gave the Indians a 68-66 lead on a jumper with 1:46 left before a dunk by Witherspoon tied the contest once again.  After blocking a Catawba shot, Mars Hill had a chance to go on top, but Yeargin missed a three.  Brown was fouled in the back court and made two free throws with 29 ticks on the clock to give Catawba its 70-68 edge that would be erased on Yeargin's winner.

Catawba opened strong, building a 17-7 lead after eight minutes.  Mars Hill fought back to go on top 31-26 before the teams went to the half tied at 35.  Neither team led by more than four points over the final 20 minutes.

Mars Hill held a 13-6 edge in second-chance points.  The Indians also committed nine of its 12 turnovers in the second half, while Mars Hill had only three of its 10 miscues after the break.

Mars Hill will host Newberry on Wednesday night, December 16, in Stanford Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.