Mars Hill wraps up SAC/CC play versus Belmont Abbey

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (0-2) fell by a score of 70-53 to Belmont Abbey (1-1) on Saturday night to conclude SAC/CC Challenge play.

Mars Hill began the game on a 6-2 run before the Crusaders rallied back to take a 9-8 lead with 14:38 remaining in the first half.  From that point on, the Lions would be unable to regain the lead.  With 11:58 left in the half, Mars Hill would pull within three off of a Ja'Shawn Brooks three-pointer.  Belmont Abbey would take seven of the next nine points and would end the first half with a seven point lead.

DeQuan Abrom led all players with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes.  John Bowen pulled down five rebounds for the Crusaders while Ben Ferguson added nine points, going 3-of-6 from the field.  Brooks had a team-high seven points for Mars Hill.  Nassyr Daniel led all players with eight rebounds while Vernon Jackson chipped in six points.

The Lions scored six of the first eight points to start the second half to pull within three.  Belmont Abbey responded by taking seven of the next nine points to extend their lead to eight points.  The teams would continue trade baskets throughout the middle portion of the half with the Crusaders building a double-digit lead.  They would maintain that advantage for the remainder of the game and enhance it by going on an 8-0 run with just over five minutes left in the contest.  The run would be stopped by a made three-pointer from Reggie Wright with 2:24 left in the game.

Romeao Ferguson had 17 of the Crusaders' 40 second half points, going 5-of-7 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.  Abrom added 12 points to his totals.  Brooks and Austin Gilyard each had eight points in the second half for the Lions.

Abrom led all players with 23 points and collected three rebounds.  Ferguson added 19 points and six rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the floor.  Bowen collected a team-high 10 rebounds.  

Brooks, for the second night in a row, led the Lions offensively, scoring 15 points.  He added eight rebounds and five assists on the night.  Gilyard ended the night with 12 points and two assists.  Daniel and Tavion Trimble pulled down 10 rebounds each.

The Lions open up their home schedule with a contest versus North Greenville on Tuesday, November 13th inside Stanford Arena.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.