Cooke scores 19 in season debut versus LMU
The Mars Hill men's basketball team (0-4, 0-4 SAC) fell to Lincoln Memorial (12-1, 10-1 SAC) by a score of 102-71 Monday night on the road.
HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (0-4, 0-4 SAC) fell to Lincoln Memorial (12-1, 10-1 SAC) by a score of 102-71 Monday night on the road.
The contest marked the first game the Lions had played since December 19, 2020.
The Railsplitters opened the contest on a 17-0 run with Cameron Henry's six in the run pacing the offense. Jordan Walters added five during that span. In his season debut, Javonte Cooke put an end to the run, hitting a jump shot for Mars Hill's first bucket of the contest with 3:14 elapsed in the first half.
Lincoln Memorial kept the Lions at bay throughout the half, capitalizing on turnovers and points in the paint. The Railsplitters hit 55 percent of their shots in the half, including seven three-pointers. Henry led all players with 12 points in the half.
Also in his season debut, Michael Houge led the Lions with seven points after the opening 20 minutes followed by Reggie Wright's six.
Trailing by 26 entering the second half, Mars Hill put up a more tightly contested final 20 minutes. Cooke exploded for 16 of the Lions' 41 points while Austin Gilyard added 10 in his season debut. Julius Brown had a team-high nine points in the second half for the balanced Railsplitters' offense followed by Henry and Simon Wilbar's eight apiece.
Lincoln Memorial was able to outrebound the Lions 35-19 in the second half, including 10 offensive rebounds to three.
Henry led all players with 20 points followed by Brown's 17 on the night. Alex Dahling pulled down 14 rebounds to lead all players.
Cooke led Mars Hill with 19 points and nine rebounds. Wright ended the night with 11 followed by Gilyard's 10.
Mars Hill's Wednesday night contest with Lenoir-Rhyne has been postponed. They are slated to face Catawba on the road Saturday, January 30 with a 4:30 tipoff.
