Lions Fall at Columbus State

COLUMBUS, GA.-- A big second half run sparked Columbus State to a 74-53 victory over Mars Hill in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at the Lumpkin Center.

An 18-3 run by the Cougars turned a two-point lead into a 51-34 advantage midway through the second half. The Lions were unable to get any closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Armeka Booker paced MHC with 17 points and five rebounds. Taren White and Asha Alexander each scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Cougars. Mars Hill fell to 3-6 overall on the season. Columbus State snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 4-5 overall.

Ansley Ricker added 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Lions. Cadence Wilmoth came off the bench to score 10 points and grab six rebounds. Mars Hill hit 25.9 percent of their shots from the field (14-of-54) and held a 20-16 advantage in points in the paint.

Tae Smith also scored 15 points off the bench for Columbus State. The Cougars bench outscored their Lion counterparts 33-12. CSU connected on 24-of-72 from the field (33.3 percent) and 22-of-27 from the charity striple (81.7 percent).

Mars Hill controlled the opening eight minutes of play, jumping out to a 15-6 lead with 12:07 remaining in the first half. The Lions held the Columbus State to 1-of-11 shooting during that span. A 7-0 spurt highlighted by four points from Wilmoth opened up the nine-point advantage.

A 12-2 run by Columbus State over the next five minutes gave the Cougars their first lead of the game, 18-17, with 6:37 remaining in the half. After buckets by Erica Warren and Wilmoth made the score 21-18, the Cougars outscored the Lions 15-5 over the final 5:28 of the first half to take a 33-26 lead at the break.

The Lions would cut that lead to two by scoring the first five points of the second half on a pair of Ricker free throws, a Kelsey Espinosa free throw and a layup by Booker. The Cougars responded with the deciding 18-3 run. Smith, Candice Edmundson and Shan Basley all hit threes during the run, which ended with the Cougars holding a 51-34 advantage with 11:34 to play. MHC would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Mars Hill will travel to Newberry for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Jan. 5 as the Lions enter the South Atlantic Conference portion of their schedule. The Lions are 0-1 in conference play and will not play another non-conference game during the regular season.