Hickory, N.C. ? Junior forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) hit the game-winning field goal as time expired to give Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball (7-18, 5-10) a 74-73 victory over Wingate (13-13, 6-9) Wednesday evening at Shuford Gymnasium.? Blackmon finished with a game-high 29 points as the Bears won for the fourth time in their last five contests.

Wingate?s Larry Staley (Charlotte, N.C.) hit a pair of free throws for a 73-72 advantage with four seconds left before Blackmon and L-R drove the length of the court and the Albemarle High School graduate hit a 17-foot jump shot from the corner as the buzzer sounded to give the Bears the win.

L-R sophomore guard Jon Hathcock (Concord, N.C.) scored a career-high 22 points and hit six three-pointers while Wingate's Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) finished with a team-high 19 points despite the South Atlantic Conference setback.

Lenoir-Rhyne led at the break by a 41-38 score but Wingate battled back to take?a 69-65 advantage on a pair of free throws by Staley with 3:56 remaining in the game.

However, a missed Wingate dunk started a Bear rally and five straight points gave L-R the 70-69 lead on two free throws by Blackmon at the 2:46 mark of the second half.

The two teams traded baskets before Wingate took the lead again on Staley?s pair from the charity stripe only to see Blackmon?s heroics end the contest.

The Bulldogs? Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) added 13 points and six rebounds in the losing effort.

The contest was also Senior Night for the Bears as guards Ryan Crawford (Stuarts Draft, Va.) and Marcus Hodges (Wake Forest, N.C.) were honored prior to the contest.

Lenoir-Rhyne next travels to Mars Hill, N.C., to face Mars Hill on Saturday at 4 p.m., while Wingate returns home to face Carson-Newman Saturday at 4 p.m., as well.? Both contests wrap up the regular season.