Anderson outlasts Mars Hill, 94-85

MARS HILL, N.C. - A furious second-half comeback attempt came up short as the Mars Hill men's basketball team lost to Anderson by a score of 94-85. The Trojans improve to 6-4 overall, 2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Lions fall to 4-4 overall, 1-1 in the league.

Anderson stormed out of the gates to a 20-9 lead 9:15 into the game. The spurt was highlighted by a steal and one-handed dunk by Trey Britton.

The Trojans led by double-digits for most of the first half. Anderson held its largest advantage of the period, 49-25, when Brandon Young hit a trey with 2:57 left. Anderson led 51-31 at halftime.

The Trojans led 64-43 with 14:55 left in the game when Mars Hill made its move. A shot from behind the arc by Austin Patton triggered a 12-1 run in the span of 2:37 to make the score 66-55 in favor of Anderson. Mars Hill's bench got the team back in the game, outscoring Anderson's reserves 23-4 in the second half.

The Lions cut the deficit to single digits, 74-65, off a layup by Sammy Emile with 7:27 remaining in the game. A layup by Dion Malachi trimmed the deficit to 86-83, but Mars Hill would get no closer.

Anderson's Denzail Jones led all scorers with 28 points and six steals. Young and Britton followed up with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Kevis Cornwell added 11 points.

Donterious Hughes led Mars Hill in scoring with 23 points. Emile and Malachi chipped in 15 and 11 points, respectively. Julian Mack had 12 points and five steals.

The Trojans turned 16 Mars Hill first half turnovers into 22 points. The Lions outscored Anderson 20-8 in the second half in points off turnovers.

Mars Hill will travel to Limestone on Saturday, December 18. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

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