Brooks nets career-high versus Wingate
The Mars Hill men's basketball team (6-6, 4-2 SAC) was defeated 103-93 by Wingate (5-7, 1-5 SAC) Saturday afternoon on the road.
WINGATE, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (6-6, 4-2 SAC) was defeated 103-93 by Wingate (5-7, 1-5 SAC) Saturday afternoon on the road.
A tight opening three minutes saw Mars Hill up 8-7 before Wingate reeled off 11 straight points to go up 10 over the Lions. With less than 11 minutes remaining in the opening half, the Lions began to claw their way back into the contest. A three-point play by Javonte Cooke was the catalyst for an 8-1 run to go up 28-27 with 8:21 left to play.
With 4:25 left in the first half, two made free throws from Jarren Cottingham put the Bulldogs up 39-38. Cottingham carried the Bulldogs for the few minutes, recording seven straight points to go up by six. Trading leads down the stretch and then tied at 48, a three-pointer from Donell Nixon put Wingate up 51-48 with one minute left in the first.
Cottingham recorded 20 points in the first half, leading all players. Jakob Dawkins added 15 points. Ja'Shawn Brooks led the Lions with 17 points while Austin Gilyard added 11 and Cooke chipped in seven after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Lions cut the Wingate lead down to one, 57-56, following a Gilyard three-pointer. Wingate responded with 12-0 run with Cottingham recording nine points during the stretch. Mars Hill answered back with a 12-3 run of their own to cut the deficit down to four points with less than 12 minutes to play.
With 7:36 left to play, the duo of Brooks and Gilyard pulled the Lions back to within one point, combining for seven points to trail the Bulldogs 82-81. However, a Bulldogs' 7-2 run extended their lead back to six points. Another 7-0 run saw Wingate extend their lead to double-digits, a lead that would hold for Wingate's first South Atlantic Conference win of the season.
Brooks set a new career mark with 35 points, hitting 6-of-8 three-pointers on the afternoon. Gilyard finished with 24 points. Cottingham led all players with 38 points followed by Dawkins' 19 on the day. Dawkins added 10 rebounds for the double-double.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday, January 8 when they take on the Pioneers of Tusculum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.