Mars Hill splits season series with Pioneers
The Mars Hill men's basketball team (10-13, 8-9 SAC) was defeated by Tusculum (15-10, 10-7 SAC) by a score of 80-66 Wednesday evening on the road.
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (10-13, 8-9 SAC) was defeated by Tusculum (15-10, 10-7 SAC) by a score of 80-66 Wednesday evening on the road.
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the first half before the Lions responded with four points of their own to cut the deficit down to two. Tusculum added to their lead, going up 15-10 with just over six minutes played in the half. Mars Hill, following a Ja'Shawn Brooks jumper, pulled within one, however, a Pioneers' 4-0 run kept a cushion between the teams.
Mars Hill pulled to within one point on three separate occassions until the final five minutes of play in the first half. Tusculum reeled off eight straight points to hold a 32-23 edge at the 4:39 mark. A Matthew Powell layup with four seconds remaining concluded the first half with Tusculum leading 38-34.
Trenton Gibson netted 12 points to lead the Pioneers in the half while Austin Gilyard scored 14, including four three-pointers.
Tusculum, leading 49-45, went on a 7-0 run to lead by 11 with just over 10 minutes left in the contest. They would go on to lead by as many as 18 with under three minutes left. The Lions closed the gap to 10 with 34 seconds to play off of a Jamal Bryant layup, however, Tusculum ended the game on a 4-0 run to earn the season-series split.
Gilyard led all players with 19 points followed by Bryant's 17 on the night. Gibson led the Pioneers with 18 points while Caleb Hodnett netted 16.
Mars Hill returns home on Saturday, February 15 to take on Wingate. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.