Lions Fall to Randolph in Exhibition
MARS HILL, N.C.- Mars Hill dropped a 76-69 decision to Randolph College in exhibition action at Stanford Arena Thursday evening.
Randolph was paced by Colton Hunt's 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Mike Ehilegbu added 14 points for the Wildcats. Khouraichi Thiam paced MHC with a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds. Mars Hill will conclude its exhibition season Sunday night at Western Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Jalen Witherspoon added 10 points for MHC. James Fields chipped
in nine points for the Lions. Mars Hill shot 49 percent (24-of-49)
from the floor.
Randolph's Corey Brown contributed 11 points. The Wildcats shot
47.3 percent (26-of-55) on the evening.
Mars Hill used a 12-0 run to regain the lead early in the second half. The run featured a layup and old-fashioned three-point play by Thiam, a lay-in by Daron Guyton, a three from Carter Wright and a pair of free throws from Witherspoon. The run ended with MHC holding a 38-34 lead with 17:41 to play in the half.
The Wildcats regained the lead at 54-52 on Taylor Smith jump-hook with 8:23 to play. The Lions rallied several times to cut the deficit to one in the closing minutes, but each time Randolph had an answer.
After a pair of free throws by Fields cut the score to 66-65, Colton Hunt's cross-over pull-up gave the Wildcats a 68-65. A steal led to a pair of free throws by Corey Brown pushed the lead to five. MHC would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
Randolph took a 34-26 lead into the break. The Wildcats opened the game on an 11-2 run to seize control early and only trailed once in the half. Mars Hill pulled within 20-18 on a layup by Guyton, but an Randolph countered with an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead. The Wildcats shot 13-of-28 from the field in the first half (46.4 percent), while the Lions connected on 44 percent of their attempts (11-of-25).