March 5, 2008

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Mars Hill College Lions fought back from an eight-point deficit in the second half to upset Carson-Newman in the first round of the 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Wednesday night in Jefferson City.

Junior Jordan Skinner led the Lions with 19 points, hitting 13-of-14 free throws. As a team, Mars Hill finished 26-of-37 at the line.

Sixth-seeded Mars Hill started fast, scoring the first eight points of the game for a quick 8-0 lead. The Lions stretched that lead to 29-13 near the midway point of the first half, before the Eagles rallied to cut the lead to 39-37 at the half.

The third-seeded Eagles failed to score in the opening three minutes of the second half, as Mars Hill moved out to a five-point advantage at 42-37.

C-N answered with its best stretch of the game, going on a 21-8 run to build its largest lead at 58-50. Back-to-back three pointers by Jesse McMurray and Darren Williams keyed the C-N burst.

The Lions answered by taking care of business at the line, making their next eight free throws to cut the lead to 61-60.

Mars Hill's Jamarl Glen scored his team's next six points as Mars Hill took the lead for good, outlasting C-N at the line.

Glen finished with 15 points. Junior P.J. Gore added 16, and sophomore Stoney Polite poured in 15.

Williams led C-N with 15 points, while sophomore Jordan Dixon added 14 and senior Andy Tipton finished with 12.

With the win, Mars Hill advances to the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. Carson-Newman's season ends at 18-9 and 8-7 in the SAC.