Men's Basketball Defeats Chowan in Pickle Classic

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - Sammy Emile (Lake Worth, Fla.) scored his career high 28 points as a Lion to lead Mars Hill past Chowan 97-87 in the first day of the Mount Olive Pickle Classic. The Lions improved to 2-1 while the Hawks fell to 0-2 on the year.

Emile added four rebounds and the same number of assists in the win. He was 5-6 from behind the arc. Dion Malachi (Shelby, N.C.) followed with 15 points while Randolph Howell (Raleigh, N.C.) scored 13, Donterious Hughes (Gastonia, N.C.) and Julian Mack (Morganton, N.C.) rounded out the double-digit scorers for MHC recorded 12 and 10 points in the victory, respectively.

The first 17 minutes of the game saw seven lead changes and three ties before Howell hit a shot in the lane to give MHC a 34-33 advantage with 2:59 left in the first half. The Lions would never trail again. MHC took a 41-36 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

The Lions' biggest lead of the game was 15 points. Howell hit a jumper at the 13:36 mark to give MHC a 62-47 advantage. Chowan chipped away at the Lions' lead out scoring MHC 26-13 over the next seven minutes to trim the deficit to just two points (75-73) with 6:29 left in regulation. MHC quickly extended their lead to nine points going on a 11-4 run over the next two minutes to seal the win.

MHC scored 32 points in the paint, 33 points off Chowan miscues and received 15 points off their bench. The Lions will face the host school tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

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