Five Belmont Abbey Crusaders reached double figures, led by senior guard Jay Council's 22, and junior forward Darryl Durham posted his third double double of the year and for the second time in as many games as the men's basketball team won for the fifth time in the last six tries with an 80-70 road win at Mars Hill this afternoon. The Crusaders improve to 8-2 while Mars Hill slips to 2-6.

Council led an offense that shot 45 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range with 22 points on eight of 16 shooting from the floor to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. He scored 13 points in the first half. Terrone Sheffey finished with 17 points on five of seven shooting, including three of four from three-point range, with five assists. Durham notched his third double double of the year with 15 points on seven of 12 shooting with 10 rebounds, two steals and an assist. Chris Davis added 12 points, three steals and two assists and Tyshawn Good registered ten points, all in the second half, with two steals.

Mars Hill received a game-high 23 points from Daron Guyton, who also had ten turnovers. Khouraichi Thiam added 18 points, while Kevin Haynes chipped in with 14 as the Lions shot 42 percent from the field but were hampered by 25 turnovers.

Belmont Abbey led 37-26 at the half as it closed the period on a 11-0 run in the final 3:35 after a 10-0 Mars Hill run deadlocked the game at 26. Council fueled all by three points of the flurry, as he drained two three pointers and added a short jumper, while Sheffey closed the scoring in the half with a trifecta with 42 seconds left to push the Crusader edge to 37-26 at the break.

The second half began with the Abbey outscoring the Lions 12-7 in the first 2:56 to extend its lead to 16, but Mars Hill countered with an 11-6 run over the next three minutes to close the lead to nine.

Belmont Abbey moved the lead back to double figures and held it for the next three minutes, but another Mars Hill flurry chopped the lead down to seven at 63-56 with 8:54 to go. The Crusaders answered by scoring the next five points, all from the free throw line, to move their cushion to 12, but a 10-4 Lions run, however, sliced the lead back down to six at 72-66 with 3:29 left.

That turned out to be the last charge for the Lions, as they would only get one more field goal the rest of the way, a three-pointer by Guyton with 11 seconds left with the Crusaders leading by 13, to provide the final points of the game.