Men’s Basketball Loses at Wingate
WINGATE, N.C. - The Lions' men's basketball team lost on the road at Wingate University, 120-72 in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs improve to 16-6 overall and 12-2 in the SAC. Mars Hill falls to 3-19 overall and 0-14 in conference play.
Paidrick Matilus had 20 points to lead the Wingate attack, going eight-of-11 from the field while adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Odell Turner added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Deion Turman and Jeff Parker contributed 13 points each. Turman was six-for-six from the field, grabbing nine boards while Parker went six-for-eight from the field. Ethan Kincaid had 12 points and a season-high 10 assists to go along with eight rebounds and two steals. Quan Alexander added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Kacey Holt led four Mars Hill players in double figures with 26 points, going eight-for-15 from the field while adding eight rebounds. Carter Wright added 15 points for the Lions. Will White and Jalen Witherspoon contributed 13 points and 12 points, respectively.
It was Mars Hill jumping out to a quick lead, hitting three early triples to take a 9-4 advantage two minutes into the game. Wingate answered with a 19-3 run to take an 11-point lead three minutes later. A Matilus triple was followed by an Alexander bucket to put the Bulldogs on top, while Matilus added two more threes in the flurry to make it 23-12 at the 14:40 mark. A triple and a jumper from Wright got Mars Hill back within six at 25-19 with 12:30 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs scored the next 10 points to push the advantage to 16 at the midway point. Turman started the flurry with a dunk and a layup, while Kincaid capped it with a layup. Wingate would add an 11-0 run to push the advantage to 25 at 52-27 with 4:18 to go. Sophomore guard Ryan Daye started the spurt with a triple, while adding a dunk to cap it. Xavier Griffin gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the half with a layup at the 1:21 mark to make it 58-31. White knocked down a three in the final seconds of the half, making the halftime score 58-34.
The advantage would remain over 20 the rest of the way for the Bulldogs. A 13-0 run pushed the lead to 42 at the 6:26 mark. Kincaid had five points and four assists in the spurt. Layups from Griffin and Daye with three minutes to go put the Bulldogs on top by 49.
Mars Hill hosts Catawba Wednesday at 8 p.m.