Storylines – vs MARS HILL UNIVERSITY
The Mars Hill Lions enter into Monday night's matchup with UVA Wise holding a 1-15 overall and South Atlantic Conference record. The Lions defeated Limestone back in January, 74-68, as Mars Hill has not been able to win a game since. Head Coach Vic Finora's squad is coming off of consecutive home losses to Carson-Newman, 98-66, and Newberry, 82-74, this past week. Mars Hill is currently averaging 71.8 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field. The Lions are one of the top rebounding teams in the league, posting 12.1 offensive rebounds (third in the SAC) and 26.8 defensive rebounds (fourth in the SAC) per game. Mars Hill's 38.8 boards per game rank fourth among league leaders while its 3.2 blocks per game place the Lions third in the category. Three players are averaging double figures for the Lions led by senior guard Austin Gilyard's 13.9 points per game. Junior Javonte Cooke follows with 13.5 ppg while senior Reggie Wright is collecting 10.1 ppg. Cooke is registering 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game this season. Mars Hill will conclude regular season play Wednesday night in a home game against Anderson.
About UVA WISE
Head Coach Blake Mellinger and his squad are coming off of back-to-back wins after most recently defeating Wingate University 104-99 inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center Saturday afternoon. In the win, junior
Cameron Whiteside posted his sixth double-double of the campaign with a game-high 26 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Junior
Kaeleb Carter totaled 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 6-of-6 from the stripe, as the forward has reached double-digit points in five of his last six games. Freshman
Bradley Dean added a season-high 18 points on seven made field goals while going a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Redshirt junior
Briggs Parris netted 14 points for his 14th double figure game this season while sophomore
Izeah Parker added nine rebounds in the win. UVA Wise ranks third in the league in scoring with its 79.9 ppg (third in the SAC) while shooting 45.5 percent from the field (fifth in the SAC). The team remains consistent at the line averaging 16.8 made free throw per game (second in the SAC) and shooting a league leading 78.5 percent at the stripe. Coach Mellinger's squad will close the regular season looking for a series sweep of Mars Hill after defeating the Lions, 104-85, earlier this season.
