Newberry pulls away late, upends Lions
The Mars Hill men's basketball team (1-15, 1-15 SAC) was defeated Saturday afternoon by a score of 84-72 at the hands of Newberry (8-4, 8-4 SAC).
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (1-15, 1-15 SAC) was defeated Saturday afternoon by a score of 84-72 at the hands of Newberry (8-4, 8-4 SAC).
With just over 5:30 played in the second half, Newberry's Quandaveon McCollum knotted the game at 56, converting on a free throw. The tie came in the midst of a 9-0 run that saw the Wolves go up 61-56 with 13:09 remaining. Despite Austin Gilyard's three-pointer to cut the margin to two, Newberry reeled of nine straight points to build their lead to 11 with under 10 to play.
Jordan Gant, with 8:40 remaining, cut the lead to four with his second three-pointer of the game, but key free throws down the stretch allowed Newberry to pad their lead and escape Mars Hill with the win.
The Lions opened the contest on an early 10-4 run capped by a basket from Nassyr Daniel. Down 16-9, Newberry pushed forward, going on a 7-0 run to tie the game. Tai Giger's three-pointer with just over 11 minutes left in the first half put Newberry up, 19-18.
Javonte Cooke's three-pointer tied the game at 35 with under four minutes left in the half and was the catalyst for a Mars Hill 9-2 run, putting them up 41-37. McCollum scored the final six points of the half for Newberry, but saw the Wolves enter the half down, 45-43.
McCollum led all players with 25 points and nine rebounds. TJ Brown added 16 while Giger ended the day with 11. Cooke led the Lions with 19 points followed by Gilyard's 16. Daniel added nine and the trio of Gant, Reggie Wright, and Isayah Johnson chipped in with six.
The Lions host UVA Wise on Monday, February 22 inside Chambers Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
