Men's Basketball Falls at Carson-Newman
Mars Hill dropped a 86-75 decision at Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Saturday evening at Holt Fieldhouse
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Mars Hill dropped a 86-75 decision at Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday evening at Holt Fieldhouse. The Lions fell to 5-7 overall and 1-5 in the SAC. The Eagles improved to 6-6 on the season and 2-4 in the conference.
Michael Carson led MHU with a game high 23 points followed by Justin Yeargin with 14 points. Vernon Jackson came off the bench to add 10 points and four rebounds. Tyree Griffin recorded eight points and the same number of rebounds. The Lions connected on 40.6% (28-69) of their field goals, 34.6% (9-26) of their 3-point shots and 66.7% (10-15) of their free throws. Mars Hill scored 21 points off Eagle turnovers, 15 second chance points and received 35 points from their bench.
Sawyer Williams led C-N with 22 points and nine rebounds followed by Carson Brooks with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Charles Clark tallied 19 points for the Eagles. C-N hit 54.4% (31-57) from the field, 31.3% (5-16) from behind the arc and 86.4% (19-22) at the foul line. The Eagles out rebounded the Lions, 41-30 and scored 44 points in the paint.
After Yeargin hit a 3-pointer 25 seconds into the game, C-N scored five unanswered points to take a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish after Josh Rogers hit a jumper. The first half was closely played. Mars Hill tied the contest with 3:19 left in the first frame after Carson nailed a 3-pointer. The Eagles closed out the first half of play with a 9-0 run to take a 42-33 advantage heading into the locker room at the intermission.
The Lions cut the Eagles lead to four points (48-44) with 14:47 left in the contest after Patrick Monroe hit a shot in the lane. That would be as close as the Lions would get. C-N answered with a 6-0 run to lead by 10 points (54-44) when Williams hit a layup. The Eagles led by as many as 14 points (70-56) with 4:39 left in regulation after Williams hit a shot inside. The Lions cut the Eagles lead to seven points after a jumper by Yeargin with 45 seconds on the clock but C-N scored five unanswered points at the free throw line to go back up by 12 points with 30 seconds left in the game.
Mars Hill will host no. 11 Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, January 6. Tip-off in Stanford Arena is set for 8 p.m.
