Release contributed by Mars Hill Sports Information

January 2, 2007

Boxscore

MARS HILL, N.C.—Senior Richard Stone (Williamsburg, Va.) bucketed a team-high 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting for the visiting Knights, but it was not enough as Mars Hill College defeated St. Andrews Presbyterian College 73-46 Tuesday afternoon in Stanford Arena.

The win avenged a 70-55 loss the Lions suffered at St. Andrews in the season-opener for both colleges. MHC improved to 4-5 on the season while the Knights fell to 3-7 on the year.

Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) hit a layup with 13:17 left in the first half to give MHC a 14-12 lead they would not relinquish the rest of the contest. The Lions went on to lead by nine points (38-29) at the intermission after connecting on eight 3-pointers in the first half. In his debut for Mars Hill, Kurtis Walford (Vancouver, Canada) came off the bench and was a big part of the Lions' first half success as he converted on 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc to lead MHC with 15 first half points.

The second half belonged to the Lions. MHC went on a 23-10 run in the first 10 minutes of the second frame to lead by 22 (61-39) with 9:21 left in regulation after Thomas Moses (Madisonville, TN) hit a pair of free throws. The Lions cruised down the stretch to the 27-point victory.

MHC scored 32 points in the paint, 21 off St. Andrews' turnovers, 18 off the break and received 31 points from their bench. The Lions also took good care of the ball committing only 11 turnovers in the game. The Lions hit 52.6% (30-27) of their field goals and 40% (10-25) of their 3-point attempts. MHC lost the rebound battle, 31-to-27.

Polite led all scorers with 18 points. He added four assists and three steals. Walford and P.J. Gore (Little River, SC) tallied 17 points apiece while Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) added 10 points in the win. Gore and Aline each posted six boards in the game.

Stone was the only player in double figures for the Knights. He scored 17 and pulled down four rebounds in the contest. In only his second game of the season, junior Bradley Hippolyte (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed a team-high seven boards for SAPC. Junior Marcus Hoke (Charlotte, N.C.) scored all nine of his points from downtown while also pulling down four boards.

The Knights, who concluded non-conference play against Mars Hill, will begin a 17-game Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference stretch over the next two months on Saturday. St. Andrews visits conference foe Anderson University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.