Royals survive Lions on Senior Day

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (12-16, 10-12 SAC) dropped their 2019-20 regular season finale versus Queens (22-6, 17-5 SAC) by a score of 72-71 Saturday afternoon inside Chambers Gymnasium.

The Lions opened the contest, trailing 5-2 before reeling off eight straight to take a 10-5 lead with 16:14 left in the first half.  Ja'Shawn Brooks recorded five during the run while Javonte Cooke added three.

The Lions built their lead to as many as nine with under 14 minutes to play following a Cooke layup.  Three straight three-pointer from the Royals knotted the game at 18 and moments later, Jay'Den Turner's layup with 11:21 left in the half put the Royals up 20-18.  Following a Queens' free throw, Mars Hill went on a 10-0 run to once again take a seven-point lead.  The Lions, for the remainder of the frame, staved off Queens' offense, carrying a 44-39 lead into half.

Nassyr Daniel led all players with nine points in the frame followed by Brooks' eight.  Cooke added seven while Matthew Powell netted six.

The Lions extended their lead to 11 less than four minutes into the second half off of a Brooks' jumper.  Queens rallied to tie the game at 58 with just over nine minutes remaining off of a Jamari Smith layup.  Gavin Rains gave the Royals a 62-60 lead for a few moments before a Brooks' three-pointer gave the Lions the one-point lead with 6:25 remaining.

In the final moments of the contest, Rains missed both free throw attempts with the Royals leading 72-69.  Brooks' layup with 39 seconds remaining cut the deficit to one.  Jamal Bryant pulled down a rebound off of a missed Van Turner, Jr. three-pointer and fed the ball to Brooks in the waning seconds.  Contact while driving the lane prevented Brooks from getting a shot off as the Royals clinched on to the 72-71 win.

Rains led all players with 18 points off the bench, collecting 18 rebounds for the double-double.  Smith ended the contest with 16.

Brooks and Daniel led the Lions with 17 points apiece while Powell ended the contest with 14.  Justen Hartfield recorded four points while Cooke finished with seven.

Prior to the contest, seniors Matthew Powell, Justen Hartfield, and Ja'Shawn Brooks were recognized and celebrated for their contributions to the program.

The Lions clinched the No. 8 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, traveling to No. 1 Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, March 4.  Tipoff for quarterfinal action is set for 7 p.m.