Lions down Anderson in crucial SAC contest

ANDERSON, S.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (12-14, 10-10 SAC) picked up a crucial 95-82 win over Anderson (16-10, 11-9 SAC) Saturday afternoon on the road.

The Lions led 10-6 after 4:20 minutes, hitting three three-pointers in the run.  Jamal Bryant hit two of the attempts.  With under nine minutes to play in the frame, the Lions built their lead up to 12 points following back-to-back threes from David Elkins and Austin Gilyard, leading 31-19.  The Lions pushed their lead to 19 with 6:17 left in the half as Bryant's layup capped off a 7-0 run.

Anderson pushed back, going on a 14-2 run to narrow the deficit to seven with two minutes remaining.  With three seconds left in the half, Anderson's Quin Nottingham closed the gap to six points with a three-pointer.

The Trojans continued to claw back into the contest, pulling within three with 6:20 played in the second half following a Crosby James layup.  Mars Hill was able to hold off Anderson, rebuilding their lead to nine with under 10 minutes to play after Gilyard's three-pointer.  A resilient Trojans' squad closed the gap to five on two separate occasions in the latter stages of the half, however, the Lions closed out the game on an 11-2 run to secure the road win.

James led all players with 27 points followed by Shawn Bernard's 15 and Nottingham's 14 on the day.  Javonte Cooke paced the Lions' offense with 25 points while Bryant ended the day with 19 points.  Ja'Shawn Brooks added 15 and 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Mars Hill closes out their road schedule with a trip to Hickory, North Carolina on Wednesday, February 26, facing Lenoir-Rhyne.  Tipoff is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.