Men's Basketball Pummels Piedmont International
he Mars Hill men’s basketball finished one rebound shy of tying the team single game record as they defeated Piedmont International 104-52.
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball finished one rebound shy of tying the team single game record as they defeated Piedmont International 104-52 in non-conference action on Monday night in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill improves to 3-0 while Piedmont International drops to 3-3. The Lions had 70 rebounds, one shy of the team record of 71 set on February 6, 1967 against Wofford.
Patrick Monroe and William Arberry scored 16 points each as six Lions finished in double figures. Isaiah Cuthbertson and Justin Yeargin each scored 14 points, with Cuthbertson recording a double-double as he had a game-high 10 rebounds. Michael Carson scored 13 points with Kevin Haynes adding 10. Haynes led the Lions with five assists.
Malik Milton and Carl Tyson led Piedmont International with 13 points each. Timothy Worles scored nine points. Milton led the Bruins with six rebounds and had three assists along with Justin Valentine.
Worles made a 3-pointer to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead after they won the opening tipoff. Yeargin got the Lions on the board with a jumper at the 19:15 mark, with the visitors pushing their lead back to three after a Javon Summers bucket. Mars Hill took the lead for good as Yeargin made a layup to give the Lions a 6-5 lead with 17:34 to go in the half. Piedmont International hung within a point of the Lions until a 7-0 run gave Mars Hill a 20-12 lead with 14:40 remaining. Worles sank his third 3-pointer of the period to cut the Mars Hill advantage to five, 20-15, at the 13:06 mark. Mars Hill answered with 24-7 run to give the Lions a 22 point lead, 44-22 with 2:23 to play as the Bruins got no closer the rest of the way. Piedmont International claimed the final basket of the half as Hewitt scored on a layup just before the buzzer to send the teams to the locker room with Mars Hill leading 51-33 at halftime.
Mars Hill opened the half on a 15-4 run as they enjoyed a 66-37 lead with 16:02 to play. Tyson sank a 3-pointer to trim the Lion advantage to 26 with 14:55 to play, however Mars Hill would lead by no fewer than 28 points the rest of the night. Arberry's final layup of the night with 65 seconds left gave Mars Hill their largest lead of the game at 52 points.
The Lions shot 48.2 percent from the field and out-rebounded Piedmont International 70-26. Forty-four of Mars Hill's 70 rebounds came on defense, with the Lions holding a 54-16 advantage on points in the paint.
Mars Hill opens conference play on Wednesday, traveling to No. 23 Lincoln Memorial for an 8 p.m. start.
