Men's Basketball Falls at Wingate

WINGATE, N.C. – The Lions lost at Wingate 88-57 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Monday night in Cuddy Arena. Mars Hill fell to 9-13 overall and 5-11 in the league. The Bulldogs improved to 16-6 on the season and 12-4 in the SAC.

Jalen Witherspoon led MHU with 12 points and four rebounds. Justin Yeargin followed with nine points. Mars Hill connected on 28.1% (18-64) of their field goals, 33.3% (7-21) of their shots from behind the arc and 70% (14-20) of their attempts at the foul line.

Lee McCall led Wingate with 10 points and 14 rebounds followed by Devarious Christian and Josh Dominguez who added 11 points apiece. The Bulldogs connected on 51.4% (36-70) of their field goal attempts, 33.3% (6-8) from 3-point range and 76.9% (10-13) of their free throw attempts. Wingate scored 48 points in the paint and out rebounded the Lions, 52-33.

Isiah Cureton hit a jumper at the 19-minute mark of the first half and the Bulldogs would not trail for the remainder of the contest. The Bulldogs outscored the Lions 31-6 over the next 13 minutes of play to take a 27-point lead (33-6) with 5:35 left in the half after Mike Baez hit a 3-pointer. The Lions went on a 12-6 run to close out the half and send the teams into the locker room at halftime with Wingate enjoying a 39-18 advantage.

Wingate maintained a double-digit lead the entire second half. A jumper by Yeargin trimmed the Lions' deficit to 17 points (39-22) with 18:32 left in the second half but that was as close as the Lions would get. Wingate went on to lead by as many as 34 points (81-47) with 3:02 left in regulation after Dominguez hit a 3-pointer. Mars Hill outscored the Bulldogs 10-7 down the stretch to make the final tally 88-57 in favor of the hosts.

The Lions will host Brevard on Wednesday, February 10, in Stanford Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.