Mars Hill downed by No. 1 Lincoln Memorial

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill men's basketball team fell to No. 1 Lincoln Memorial, 100-68, Wednesday evening in Stanford Arena.

Lincoln Memorial opened the contest on a 12-5 run and never looked back. With five points apiece from Cornelius Taylor and Trevon Shaw, the Railsplitters' fast-paced offense established their presence. Nassyr Daniel and Justen Hartfield struck for the Lions to get them on the board.

With 11:36 remaining in the half, the Railsplitters furthered their lead, 26-10, with Taylor leading the way. Shooting 4-for-4 from the field including three triples, Taylor's 11 points led all players at the 8:24 mark. Daniel paced the Lions offense with seven points.

The Lions found themselves trailing 40-16 with less than four minutes left in the half. Taylor and Shaw combined for 25 of the 40 Lincoln Memorial points. The Railsplitters' propensity for scoring off of turnovers proved to be a vital advantage, outscoring the Lions 14-2 in the first half.

Daniel led the Lions with 11 points after the first 20 minutes and was followed by Austin Gilyard's five. Taylor finished the first half with 14 points and four assists. Shaw chipped in 11 and Emanuel Terry had nine points to go along with his 10 rebounds.

Terry began the second half with a monstrous dunk to give him a double-double. On the ensuing play following a Mars Hill turnover, Terry and the Railsplitters had an identical result. The dunks were the catalyst for a 10-2 run by Lincoln Memorial.

Trailing 62-35 with 15:32 remaining, the Lions were able outscore the Railsplitters over the next four minutes, 13-8, with Gilyard and Bennett Wilson leading the way. Mars Hill was able to cut the lead by five points, but Lincoln Memorial held the 70-48 edge with 11:30 left in the contest.

Over the next four minutes, the Railsplitters took nine of the next 11 points to give them a 29 point lead. Dorian Pinson had five of the Lincoln Memorial points.

Falling behind 91-59 with under four minutes remaining in the contest, the Lions continued to battle to pull within 32 against the number one ranked team in the nation.

Gilyard led the Lions with 17 points in the contest along with four rebounds. Luke Van-Rijn led all players with 13 rebounds and chipped in 10 points. Wilson and Daniell finished the contest with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Cornelius Taylor led all players with 20 points and six assists. Emanuel Terry had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Railsplitters.

Mars Hill falls to 3-14 (1-12 SAC) while Lincoln Memorial remains unbeaten in South Atlantic Conference play and improve to 20-1 (14-0 SAC).

The Lions take on Coker Saturday, February 3 at 4 p.m. in Stanford Arena to conclude a four-game home stand.