Greenwood, S.C. - The Georgia Southwestern Men's Basketball Team (8-2) defeated Lenoir-Rhyne University (4-6), 68-52, Thursday evening on the first day of the third annual Bearcat Holiday Classic at Horne Arena.?

Phillip Brown (Jonesboro, Ga.) led all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting for the Hurricanes, who won their second straight contest.

Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore forward Allan Jones (Clemmons, N.C.) came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points in the losing effort.? The Bears also saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Georgia Southwestern was in complete control throughout as it rolled to a 39-14 halftime lead and increased its advantage to as much as 29 points (59-30) with 8:59 remaining in the contest.

The Hurricanes' Colin Slotter (Marietta, Ga.) and Milos Kleut (Belgrade, SERBIA) added nine points each as Georgia Southwestern limited L-R to just 33 percent shooting (17-for-51) for the game.

Brown, Kleut and Marlon Rivera (Rio Piedras, PUERTO RICO) all pulled down nine rebounds each for the Hurricanes, who held a 49-26 advantage on the boards.

Senior forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) added 10 points for Lenoir-Rhyne in his third game back after missing over a?year because of a knee injury.

Lenoir-Rhyne plays the host school, Lander, on the final day of the tournament Friday afternoon beginning at 3:30 p.m.? Georgia Southwestern takes on Coastal Georgia in the first game of the doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m.