MARS HILL, N.C. — The Newberry Wolves men’s basketball team mounted a strong second half comeback against Mars Hill Saturday afternoon, but fell short in an 80-70 defeat. With the loss, the Wolves drop to 4-2 (1-1 South Atlantic Conference) on the season.

Newberry got in an early hole and never recovered, as Mars Hill jumped out to a 14-4 lead on a three pointer by Austin Gilyard. The Wolves punched back quickly with two TJ Brown free throws, a basket by QuanDaveon McCollum, and a jumper by Jalen Johnson to close the lead to 16-10. Later, a Marcus Ford three-pointer cut the lead to five points with just over nine minutes

The Lions went on a run over the next four minutes and extended the lead out to 12 points on a Matthew Powell three-pointer. Another Gilyard three-pointer a few minutes later extended their lead out to 15, and Mars Hill maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the half. TJ Brown recorded the last points of the half on a layup with 20 second left to keep Newberry within striking distance at 42-28.

Mars Hill came out firing in the second half and quickly extended the lead out to 17 points on a Javonte Cooke layup. Another Gilyard three-pointer less than a minute later gave the Lions their first 20-point lead of the game, and the Wolves were playing catch-up from then on. With 12 minutes to play, a Johnson layup cut the lead to 17 points and Newberry began the long climb back into the game.

Callan Low scored a bucket in the paint with less than 11 minutes left to cut the lead to 15, but the Lions responded quickly and extended the lead out to 20 points on a four-point play by Powell. A Luke Gibson three-pointer with just less than eight minutes left cut the lead to 16 points, and two TJ Brown free throws a short time later put Newberry within striking distance once again at 67-53. With less than five minutes to play, Angelo Sales Jr. converted a layup to get within 12 points, but neither team scored again for the next couple minutes.

The Wolves continued to push hard but were forced to foul down the stretch and Mars Hill hit more than enough free throws to hold the lead. Sales hit a three-pointer to get the game back into single digits at 79-70, but there were only 15 seconds left. The Lions hit a single free throw with six seconds left to provide the final margin.

Sales led the Wolves in both scoring and rebounding on the day as he had 18 points and eight rebounds. TJ Brown struggled shooting the ball on the day, but finished with 15 points and six rebounds.

Courtesy of Newberry College