Men's Basketball falls at Limestone
Mars Hill’s men’s basketball team fell to Limestone 106-92 in the final round of the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Challenge Saturday night at the Timken Center.
GAFFNEY, S.C. – Mars Hill's men's basketball team fell to Limestone 106-92 in the final round of the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Challenge Saturday night at the Timken Center. The Lions drop to 0-2 on the season while the Saints improved to 2-0 on the year.
Charles Moore and Justen Hartfield scored 25 points apiece to pace the Lions. Moore added four rebounds and six assists while Hartfield recorded two boards and five assists in the game. Matthew Powell scored 11 points. Nassyr Daniel added 10 markers and a team high eight rebounds. The Lions hit 54.3% (38-70) from the floor, 47.4% (9-19) from three point range and 38.9% (7-18) from the foul line. Mars Hill scored 30 points off Limestone turnovers, 10 points off the break and received 56 points off their bench.
Kenny Hairston scored a game high 24 points to lead the Saints. Jaquan Simms followed with 17 points and eight rebounds. Montrel Goldston and Walter Cole added 14 points each in the win. The Saints recorded 25 second chance points and out rebounded the Lions, 48-29. Limestone also shot 53.4% (39-73) from the field, 40.6% (13-32) from behind the arc and 60% (15-25) at the foul line.
T.J. Sheppard hit a layup at the 18:37 mark and the Saints would never trail in the contest. After Kenny Hairston scored inside, Limestone led by nine points (19-10) with 13:51 left in the first half of play. Mars Hill went on a 10-2 run capped off by a layup by Moore at the 11:03 mark to trim the deficit to just a single point (21-20). The Saints answered outscoring Mars Hill 23-10 over the next six minutes of play to lead by 14 points (44-30) after Simms hit a free throw. The Saints closed out the first half on a 15-11 run to take a 59-41 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Mars Hill cut the Saints lead to 12 points (73-61) with 12:42 left in the contest when Moore hit a jumper but that was as close as the Lions would get. Limestone extended their advantage to 23 points (102-79) with 3:48 left in regulation after Hairston hit a three-pointer. Mars Hill made a late run outscoring the Saints 13-4 down the stretch to make the final tally 106-92 in favor of the hosts.
Mars Hill will host Southern Wesleyan in their home opener on Tuesday, November 14. Tip-off in Stanford Arena is set for 6 p.m.
