Lions Knock Off Tusculum to Complete Season Sweep
Mars Hill completed the season sweep of Tusculum with an 82-61 victory over the Pioneers on Monday.
MARS HILL, N.C. - Mars Hill completed the season sweep of Tusculum with an 82-61 victory over the Pioneers in South Atlantic Conference action in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill improves to 10-15 overall and 8-12 in the league while Tusculum drops to 6-17 and 6-14.
Mars Hill was led by Paige Chavis with 22 points, followed by a double-double from Kelsey Espinosa with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Camille Glymph scored 15 points, followed by seven points each from Katie Stevens and Sydney Comer. Every Mars Hill player scored at least two points and pulled down at least one rebound in the victory.
Blakeley Burleson scored 17 points to lead the Pioneers. Kristen McMillion posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Rainey Story with 11 points.
Mars Hill scored the first four points of the game before Tusculum tied the game at 4 with 15:21 to play in the first half. A Brianna Mitchell layup gave the visitors a 13-9 with 11:36 remaining lead before a Chavis 3-pointer and free throws allowed Mars Hill to retake the lead, 14-13, with 10:38 to play. A Burleson 3-pointer gave Tusculum a 20-19 lead with 7:19 to go before halftime, but Mars Hill used buckets from Espinosa and Glymph for a 31-24 lead with 59 seconds remaining. Mars Hill held a 31-27 halftime lead in as the first half featured five ties and eight lead changes.
Tusculum tied the game at 31 with 19:03 to play following a Cutshaw layup and a Whitener jumper. Mars Hill answered with a 10-0 run as Comer's old-fashioned three-point play with 17:01 to play in the second half gave the Lions a double-digit lead for the first time in the game. A Jessica Hairston layup brought the visitors to within seven (43-36) at the 16:14 mark, but the Lions used a 10-1 run capped by a Stevens 3-pointer to take a 53-37 lead with 11:42 to play. Burleson's 3-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining brought the Pioneers to within 11 (57-46) but they would get no closer the rest of the way as the Lions led by as many as 22 points en route to their 10th win of the season.
The Lions held a 46-28 advantage on the boards, with a 32-20 margin on the defensive glass. Mars Hill scored 19 points off of 15 Pioneer turnovers.
The game was originally scheduled to be played last Wednesday, but winter weather forced the postponement of the contest until Monday.
Mars Hill will honor Glymph and Stevens on Senior Night on Wednesday against Brevard. The contest is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.