Bears pull away late, Lions fall on road
The Mars Hill men's basketball team (1-12, 1-12 SAC) fell by a score of 71-65 on the road Monday night versus Lenoir-Rhyne (8-3, 8-3 SAC).
HICKORY, N.C. - The Mars Hill men's basketball team (1-12, 1-12 SAC) fell by a score of 71-65 on the road Monday night versus Lenoir-Rhyne (8-3, 8-3 SAC).
Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out of the gate on a 5-0 run before the Lions responded with a 5-0 run of their own. Isayah Johnson's dunk with 5:28 played in the first half tied the game at seven. Moments later, Anthony Rice's three-pointer gave the Bears the 10-7 lead.
With 12 minutes to play in the half, Javonte Cooke's three-pointer tied the game at 10 and was the catalyst for a Lions' 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 14-10, with 10:46 remaining.
The Bears clawed back into the contest, going up 27-24 with 3:33 left in the half. Following a Zim Fields layup, Lenoir-Rhyne reeled off nine of the final 11 points scored in the first, carrying a 36-26 lead into the half.
Cooke led all players with eight points and eight rebounds in the first half. Johnson added six. Fields and Mason Hawks led the Bears with six points apiece.
Mars Hill chopped the lead down to five with 16:13 to play, 41-36, following Cooke's made free throw. They would drop the deficit to two as Austin Gilyard sank a three-pointer with just under 10 minutes played, cutting the Bears' lead down to 50-48.
The teams continued to trade buckets down the stretch, but Lenoir-Rhyne continued to hold off Mars Hill to complete the season sweep.
Gilyard led all players with 19 points followed by Cooper Fowler's 18 for the Bears. Cooke ended the contest with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double. Johnson added 12 points while Nassyr Daniel chipped in 10 on the night.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday, February 17 to take on Carson-Newman on the road. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.
