Men's Basketball Falls Short Against Lenoir-Rhyne

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill men's basketball dropped a tough decision against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Saturday, January 16 at Stanford Arena. The Lions fall to 7-9 overall and 3-7 in conference as L-R improves to 11-4, 6-4.

Six different players scored in double-figures for the Lions, led by Tyree Griffin's team-high 19. Justin Yeargin poured in 16, Brandon McCarter and Patrick Monroe each chipped in 11, while Monroe added 11 boards for a double-double. Rounding out the top scorers for MHU were Jalen Witherspoon and Michael Carson, dropping 10 apiece.

Keenan Palmore led Lenoir-Rhyne with a game-high 21 points to go along with his nine rebounds. Will Perry contributed 18 for the Bears.

Griffin opened play with two old-fashioned three point plays and the Lions knocked down three shots from downtown to run out to an early 15-5 lead in the first three minutes of the contest. L-R would do its best to try and keep the game within reach as it was able to narrow the gap to 17-11 with a mini 6-2 run, but the sharp shooting of MHU would not be denied as the Lions regained control to the tune of an 8-1 run, capped by a deep three from Justin Yeargin, extending the lead to 25-12 with halfway through the opening half.

A back-and-forth affair would take place over the next several minutes as the two teams traded baskets on their respective ends of the floor. The Bears continued to claw their way back in and a three from the corner by Billy Bales trimmed the deficit to six at 44-38. Griffin closed the scoring out with two free throws and the Lions took a 46-38 lead into the break.

After a hot first half the Lions could not seem to find the bottom of the basket to start the second half. Lenoir-Rhyne took advantage of this and erased the deficit with a 15-6 run to take its first lead of the game at 52-51 with just over 14 minutes remaining. That lead was short-lived as Jalen Witherspoon connected on back-to-back baskets to push the Lions back in front.

With the score at 56-53 in favor of the home team, L-R used a massive 20-4 run to capture a commanding 73-60 lead with less than ten minutes left to play in the contest. The Lions attempt at a comeback would fall short as the Bears continued their blistering shooting in the second half and sealed a 96-83 win.

Mars Hill will return to action on Wednesday, January 20 as they head to Brevard, N.C. to take on the Tornado. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.