ANDERSON, S.C. – The Mars Hill men's basketball team dampened Senior Day recognitions by outpacing the Trojans, 95-82, in South Atlantic Conference play, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson slipped to 16-10 overall and 11-9 in the conference with its second loss in three decisions, while Mars Hill (12-14, 10-10 SAC) has won two of its last three outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Freshman guard Crosby James II led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, with senior guard Shawn Benard adding 15 points and dishing out six assists. The native of Mobile, Ala., pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Quin Nottingham tallied 14 points and six assists, while sophomore center Jason Edwards grabbed six boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Junior guard Alex Keel dropped in the first basket of the game less than a minute into the contest – and it was the only lead the Trojans held on the day.
With Mars Hill holding a 12-11 lead at the 13:52 mark, the Lions went on a 29-11 scoring outburst that saw the visitors capture their largest lead of the contest, at 41-22, with 6:17 remaining in the half.
But the Trojans refused to go away quietly and steadily trimmed the deficit to just 48-42 at intermission.
Second Half
While AU climbed within one possession twice in the first nine minutes of the second half, Mars Hill responded each time and built a double-digit 82-72 advantage with more than five minutes on the clock.
A layup by Nottingham and a 3-pointer from James got the Trojans within 82-77, but AU was unable to overtake the Lions down the stretch.
STAT OF THE GAME
The 95 points scored by Mars Hill were the most by an AU opponent this season.
NOTABLES
• The 59.6 percent shooting by Mars Hill was the highest by an opponent this season – eclipsing Coker's 50.9% accuracy.
• The Trojans outscored Mars Hill, 42-30, in the paint.
• Mars Hill out-rebounded the Trojans, 35-30, with AU pulling down 10 offensive rebounds.
• AU has already clinched its fourth straight appearance in the postseason SAC Tournament and its eighth overall since joining the conference for the 2010-11 season.
• With two games remaining on the regular-season schedule, the Trojans are alone in fifth place in the conference standings, two games behind Tusculum and Catawba, and one game in front of both Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne, which share sixth place. The top four teams in the standings will host a SAC Tournament Quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 4.
• AU slipped to 8-4 at home.
• Anderson holds a 20-11 advantage in the all-time series with Mars Hill.
UP NEXT
AU will play host to Catawba on Wednesday night in its final regular-season home contest before wrapping up the regular season a week from today at league-leading and second-ranked Lincoln Memorial. Tip-off versus the Indians is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
