Men's Basketball Wins on Senior Day

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions' men's basketball team ended the 2016-17 season on a high note defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 78-74 on Senior Day. Prior to the game, Mars Hill recognized their lone senior, Valentin Bauer. MHU ends the season 6-22 overall and 4-18 in the league. The Bears fell to 10-17 on the season and 9-13 in the SAC.

Vernon Jackson led the Lions with 16 points. Bennett Wilson tallied 13 points followed by Justin Hartfield and Charles Moore who score 11 points apiece. Bauer added nine rebounds and five assists in the win. Mars Hill hit 54.2% (26-48) from the floor, 26.7% (4-15) from three-point range and 78.6% (22-28) from the foul line. The Lions received 42 points from their bench. Mars Hill dominated the glass outrebounding the Bears, 43-25.

Lucas Reed led the Bears with 14 points and five rebounds. Darrion Evans followed with 13 points while Jalen Variste added 12 markers and four steals. L-R connected on 40.3% (27-67) from the field, 27.6% (8-29) from behind the arc and 85.7% (12-14) at the free throw line.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Hartfield and Andrew Barber gave the Lions a 6-0 advantage with 18:37 left in the first half. The Bears outscored MHU 15-3 over the next four minutes to lead 15-9 with 14:17 on the clock after Billy Bales hit a three-pointer. The Bears would hold onto the lead the remainder of the first half and lead by as many as 11 points (34-23) after JacQues Chambers scored inside. The teams went into the locker room at the break with L-R leading by six points (38-32).

A layup by Andrew Barber with 17:13 left in the second half cut the deficit to just three points (45-42) but the Bears answered outscoring Mars Hill 9-2 to enjoy an eight-point lead (54-46) with 12:49 on the clock after Variste converted an old fashioned three-point play. A three-pointer by Moore with 8:16 left in the contest brought the Lions within a single points of the Bears (60-59). Once again the Bears answered with a 9-4 run to extend their advantage to six points (69-63) with 5:02 remaining in regulation. Mars Hill stormed back during the next three minutes of play outscoring Lenoir-Rhyne 9-2 capped off by a layup by Wilson with 1:54 left in the game. The Lions would not trail again. After a Bear missed three-point attempt, Jackson scored in the paint to put the Lion up by three points (74-71) with 24 ticks left. The Bears were forced to foul down the stretch and MHU answered going 4-4 at the charity stripe to seal the 78-74 victory.