Men's Basketball Falls at Coker

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Lions lost at Coker, 101-96 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday evening in the DeLoach Center. The Lions fell to 5-21 overall and 3-17 in the league. The Cobras improved to 8-18 on the season, 5-15 in the SAC.

Justin Hartfield scored his career and the teams' season high 32 points in the loss. Vernon Jackson and Dotson Griffin followed with 16 and 15 points in the contest, respectively. Griffin added seven rebounds. Mars Hill hit 55.1% (38-69) of their field goal attempts, 28.6% (6-21) of their three-point attempts and 60.9% (14-23) of their free throw shots. The Lions won the battle of the boards, 34-29.

Jake Barrett led Coker with 20 points while Larry Cooper tallied 18 points and eight rebounds. Coker connected on 61.5% (40-65) of their field goals, 53.3% (8-15) of their shots from behind the arc and 48.1% (13-27) of their foul shots.

A free throw by Jackson with 15:27 left in the first half gave Mars Hill a six-point lead (11-5). Coker then scored 11 unanswered points to take a five-point advantage with 13:12 left in the first period after Cooper scored in the lane. The Cobras would not trail again. Coker led by as many as 18 points (49-31) in the first half after Nathan Lemke hit a three-pointer. Mars Hill battled back outscoring Coker 15-5 to close out the first half of play and send the teams into the locker room with the Cobras leading by eight points (54-46).

The Cobras began the second frame on an 11-3 run to lead by 18 points (67-49) with 17:57 left in the second half after Barrett hit a layup. Coker went on to lead by as many as 21 points (77-56) when Demarco Jackson hit a jumper with 15:24 left in the final period. Mars Hill stormed back outscoring the Cobras 36-17 over the next 12 minutes of play to trim the deficit to just two points (94-92) after Griffin nailed two shots at the charity stripe. The Lions were forced to foul down the stretch and the Cobras were able to hold on for a five-point (101-96) victory.

Mars Hill will play at SAC rival Tusculum on Wednesday, February 22. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.