Seniors honored in home finale versus Anderson

MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (9-18, 3-16 SAC) was defeated by Anderson (16-11, 10-9 SAC) Wednesday night by a score of 87-75 inside Stanford Arena.

The Lions fell behind 6-3 in the first 3:50 of the contest, but rallied to score five straight to tie the game at eight with under five minutes played.  A 11-2 Anderson run put the Trojans up 19-10 with under 12 minutes left in the half.  Shawn Benard had four points in the run.

Anderson pushed the lead up to 11 with under six minutes to play before Mars Hill responded.  Trailing 39-29 with 3:33 left, the Lions closed out the half on a 9-3 run to enter the half down by four.  

Benard led all players with 12 points in the half while Josh Livingston added eight.  The Lions were led by Ja'Shawn Brooks' eight points.

Mars Hill took the lead with just over five minutes played in the second half, 50-49, off of a Dotson Griffin layup.  The teams traded the lead back and forth over the next several minutes until a Trojans' 7-0 run put them up 61-55 with under nine minutes remaining.

Anderson built their lead to double-digits with 4:01 on the clock from a Livingston layup.  They would maintain the double-digit lead to close out the valiant Lions' squad in the final moments of the contest.

Benard led all players with 24 points and collected nine rebounds.  Livingston recorded the double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Gage Ellis added 17 points.

Brooks led the Lions with 19 points followed by Javonte Cooke's 11 on the night.  Austin Gilyard added 10.

Prior the start of the contest, seniors Austin Stone, Dotson Griffin, Tavion Trimble and Vernon Jackson were recognized for their contributions to the program as part of the Senior Day celebration.

The Lions conclude their season with a road game versus Queens on Saturday, March 2nd.  Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.