Lions Erase Late 13-Point Deficit to Beat Cobras
The Lions defeated SAC rival Coker College, 76-73 on the road in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Saturday evening in the DeLoach Center. The Lions overcame a 13-point deficit with just nine minutes left in regulation to obtain the win.
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Lions defeated SAC rival Coker College, 76-73 on the road in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday evening in the DeLoach Center. The Lions overcame a 13-point deficit with just nine minutes left in regulation to obtain the win. Mars Hill improved to 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the SAC. The Cobras fell to 3-5 on the season and 2-3 in the league.
Thomas Anderson led the Lions with his first double-double of the season, his third as a Lion. He scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jalen Witherspoon followed with 15 points while Kevin Haynes came off the bench to pour in 14 points going 6-7 from the foul line. Michael Carson and Patrick Monroe rounded out the double-digit scorers for MHU with 13 and 11 points in the victory, respectively. The Lions scored 17 points off Cobra miscues.
Jordan Scott and Jalen Watson led the Cobras scoring 17 points apiece. Watson pulled down seven rebounds as well. Trey James recorded a game high 15 rebounds in the loss while scoring nine points. Coker scored 32 points in the paint. The Cobras edged the Lions in the battle of the boards, 43-42. The game saw one tie and two lead changes.
Mars Hill jumped out to their largest lead of the contest of 10 points (15-5) with 13:34 left in the first frame after Witherspoon hit a shot from behind the arc. Coker then went on an 18-5 run to lead 23-21 with 8:44 left in the half after Aubrey Daniel hit a 3-pointer. The Cobras would go on to score nine additional unanswered points to lead by 11 points (32-21) with 6:21 on the clock in the first period. Coker would enjoy a seven-point (38-31) lead at the intermission.
A 3-pointer by Scott with 8:59 left in regulation gave the Cobras their largest lead of the game to put Coker ahead 57-44. Over the next 11 minutes, Mars Hill went on a 28-14 run to take the lead for good, 74-73 after Michael Carson hit a 3-point basket with 1:05 left in the contest. The Lions defense held strong down the stretch to leave Hartsville with the 76-73 victory.
The Lions will host Hiawassee on December 18. Tip-off in Stanford Arena is set for 4 p.m.
