Brooks, Gilyard each record 25 in win over Warren Wilson

SWANNANOA, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (2-3) downed Warren Wilson (0-4) on the road, 89-71, Wednesday evening.

Matthew Powell's two made free throws with just under three minutes played opened the scoring.  A Mars Hill 5-2 run with under eight minutes to play saw the Lions lead 19-15, before the Owls, two minutes later, would tie the game at 21-all.  The teams remained tied until, with 4:39 to play in the first half, a jumper from Jamal Bryant put Mars Hill ahead 28-26.  Bryant followed up with a three-pointer, giving the Lions a five-point advantage and forcing the Owls to burn a timeout.  Mars Hill maintained the five-point edge, closing out the half leading 39-34 with Bryant's nine pacing the Lions' offense. 

Ja'Shawn Brooks recorded six points in the opening 20 minutes while Austin Gilyard added eight.  Jerry Daye recorded 20 of the Owls' 34 first half points, shooting 6-of-11 from the floor and hitting seven-of-eight free throws. 

Brooks and Gilyard led the way for Mars Hill in the second half, combining for 36 of the Lions' 50 second half points.  Combined, they hit 16-of-17 free throws, taking all of the Mars Hill opportunities in the final 20 minutes of play.

Mars Hill began the half on an 10-3 run to extend their lead to 13 with just over 16 minutes to play.  Shortly after, another 10-4 run saw Brooks drop seven points to put the Lions up by 19 with 6:34 gone in the half.  Mars Hill maintained the double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest and with 41 seconds left in the game, Brooks hit all six free throw opportunities to end the contest on a 6-0 run and secure the 89-71 victory.

Both Brooks and Gilyard recorded 25 points in the victory with Gilyard collecting a team-high nine rebounds.  Bryant ended the contest with 16 and eight rebounds.  Daye led all players with 28 points followed by O'Darius Cade's 22 for the Owls.

The Lions face Lees-McRae on Saturday, November 23 in their 2019-20 home opener.  Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Chambers Gymnasium.