Men's Basketball Wins at Brevard
Mars Hill erased an eight-point deficit in the first half to defeat South Atlantic Conference foe Brevard, 78-75 Monday night at Boshamer Gymnasium
BREVARD, N.C. – Mars Hill erased an eight-point deficit in the first half to defeat South Atlantic Conference foe Brevard, 78-75 Monday night at Boshamer Gymnasium. The Lions improved to 9-10 overall and 5-8 in the SAC. The Tornados fell to 3-16 on the year, 2-11 in the league.
Patrick Monroe and Justin Yeargin led Mars Hill scoring 23 and 22 points in the contest, respectively. Yeargin added nine rebounds while Monroe pulled down seven boards. Tyree Griffin and Jalen Witherspoon followed with 14 points apiece. The Lions shot 50% (28-56) from the floor and won the battle of the boards, 36-33.
Demarcus Threatt led Brevard with a game high 25 points followed by Miles Leathers with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Tornados connected on 52.7% (29-55) of their field goal attempts. Neither team fared well at the charity stripe. MHU hit 47.2% (5-19) while Brevard made only 60% (12-20) of their shots at the foul line.
The Lions jumped out to a seven point lead (18-11) with 11:41 remaining in the first half after Justin Yeargin hit a 3-pointer. The Tornados then went on a 25-10 run over the next eight minutes of play to take an eight point lead (36-28) with 3:17 left in the first half after D.J. Bostick hit a shot from behind the arc. The Lions closed out the first half outscoring Brevard 8-4 to trail 40-36 at the intermission. Yeargin was 7-11 from the floor in the first half to account for 20 points of the Lions' 36 first half points.
A pair of free throw by Witherspoon capped off a 10-4 run that gave the Lions a two-point (46-44) lead with 15:41 left in the second half. Brevard answered outscoring Mars Hill 21-18 over the next 10 minutes to enjoy a 65-64 lead with 5:45 left to play. Griffin then tipped in a miss by Witherspoon on the ensuing possession at the 5:21 mark to give the Lions a 66-65 lead they would not relinquish. Mars Hill led by as many as five points (75-70) down the stretch after Yeargin hit a free throw with 14 ticks left. A 3-pointer by Threat cut the Lions' lead to a single point (76-75) with two seconds left in regulation but Brevard was forced to foul and Monroe calmly sank two free throws to seal the win.
Mars Hill will host SAC rival Carson-Newman on Wednesday, February 3. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.