Saints use three ball to down Mars Hill at home

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball (1-7, 1-7 SAC) was defeated by Limestone (2-10, 2-9 SAC) by a score of 100-81 Thursday night inside Chambers Gymnasium.

The Saints jumped out to a hot start in the first 4:10 of the contest, going up 15-3.  The offensive outburst continued throughout the half, as they drained 22-of-30 shots from the floor, going 11-of-16 from beyond the arc.  Isayah Owens and Ben Gahlert led the way, recording 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Mars Hill responded in the beginning of the second half, going on an 8-2 run to close the gap to 59-43.  The Lions continued to claw their way back into the contest, closing to within nine with 11:02 left in the contest.  Gahlert responded for the Saints, draining six straight free throw attempts, kicking off a 9-0 run to rebuild their 18-point lead.

With 6:35 left in the contest, the Lions once again pushed hard going on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit down to eight with under five minutes to play, however, a momentum cutting three-pointer from Owens turned the tides back in the Saints' favor, responding with another 10-0 run.

Despite the Lions outscoring Limestone 46-43 in the second half, the large lead from the first carried over to give the Saints their second win of the season to split the series.  The Saints hit 17-of-28 three-point attempts to help secure the victory.

Gahlert led all players with 23 points in the second half, closing out the contest with 36 points.  Reggie Wright led the Lions offensively in the second half with 12 points followed by Javonte Cooke's 11.  Michael Houge had an impressive 11 minutes, recording six points.

Owens ended the contest with 20 while Stephen Edoka and Ayo Dada each added 15 points apiece.  Cooke led the Lions with 19 points followed by Wright and Houge's 14 apiece.

The Lions return to action on Saturday, February 6 when they host Wingate.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.