Mars Hill Comeback Falls Short Against Carson-Newman

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill Lions saw the go-ahead 3-pointer clank off the rim with seven seconds left as Carson-Newman escaped from Stanford Arena with a 64-62 victory in South Atlantic Conference basketball action on Wednesday night. Carson-Newman improves to 6-7 overall and 4-3 in the league while the Lions drop to 7-6 and 2-5.

Michael Carson led Mars Hill with 23 points, followed by Brandon McCarter with 12 points and Isaiah Cuthbertson with 10. Cuthbertson led the Lions with nine rebounds.

Carson-Newman was led by Carson Brooks with 16 points and Mason Bates with 15 points.

Carson-Newman opened the game on a 6-2 run before Mars Hill made four of five shots to pull within a pair, 14-12, with 11:09 to play. The Eagles went on an 11-2 run for a 25-14 lead with 6:09 to play before a Carson 3-pointer pulled the Lions within two, 29-27, with 2:11 left. Carson-Newman held a 31-27 lead at halftime.

The Eagles opened the second half on a 10-2 run, prompting a Mars Hill timeout with 16:48 to play with a 41-29 Carson-Newman lead.  The Eagles led 45-33 before a McCarter 3-pointer, dunk and jumper cut the Lion deficit to 45-40 with just over 13 minutes to play. Mars Hill capped a 14-4 run with a McCarter 3-pointer to pull the hosts to within three, 47-44, with just over 11 minutes remaining. The Eagles answered with a 12-3 run for a game-high 12 point lead, 59-47, with 7:11 remaining.

Mars Hill used a 10-1 pulled to within three points, 60-57, with 3:42 remaining. The Lion rally was aided by a trio of Carson free throws and a McCarter layup.  After the Eagles extended the lead to five, Carson made a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left to pull Mars Hill to within two, 64-62. With 18 seconds remaining, Ryan Jones was fouled but missed the first half of a one-and-one with the rebound falling into the hands of Thomas Anderson. Following a timeout, McCarter had an open look for the game-winning shot, but the ball popped off of the rim and the Lions were unable to get off another shot before time expired.

Mars Hill hosts Newberry at 4 p.m. on Saturday.