Lions complete season sweep over UVa-Wise

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (8-11, 6-7 SAC) defeated UVa-Wise (5-15, 1-12 SAC) by a score of 82-74 to complete the season sweep Wednesday evening.

Trailing 6-4 early in the contest, a three-pointer from Matthew Powell put the Lions ahead by one.  Austin Gilyard followed up by scoring four straight Lions' points to go up 11-8 with just over four minutes played.  Later in the half, leading 20-17, Mars Hill extended their lead to 12 points following a 9-0 run.  Nassyr Daniel had four points during the stretch.

The Cavaliers began to cut into the Mars Hill lead with under eight minutes to play, beginning with Cameron Whiteside's three made free throws.  They were the catalyst for a UVa-Wise 10-0 run that saw the Cavaliers pull within two with 4:34 left in the half.  The Lions were able to extend their lead back to five as the buzzer sounded to end the first 20 minutes of play.

Ja'Shawn Brooks led the Lions with 12 points in the half followed by Gilyard's nine.  Jamal Bryant netted four points, but collected five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 17 minutes of play.  Whiteside led all players with 16 points in the half.

The Lions opened the second half on a 6-0 run that saw Mars Hill lead by 11 with just over three minutes played.  UVa-Wise responded with a 7-0 stretch to close the gap to four points.  Mars Hill was able to regain a double-digit advantage with under eight minutes to play, going on a 9-0 run to lead 67-53 with 6:21 remaining.  Gilyard scored six of the final seven Mars Hill points, all of free throws, to clinch the Lions' victory.

Brooks matched his first half output and ended the contest with a game-high 24 points, hitting three three-pointers in the second half.  Gilyard added 11 in the final 20 minutes of play to close out the game with 20 points.  Daniel contributed 14 points, hitting 70 percent of his shots while collected a team-high nine rebounds.  Bryant's solid all-around game saw the junior record seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Mars Hill hosts Coker on Saturday, February 1 inside Chambers Gymnasium for game two of their three-game homestand.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.