Hickory, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team (0-1) fell in the 2016-17 season opener to UNC Pembroke (1-0), 81-76, Friday evening on day one of the South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Challenge at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
The Braves were led by Brandon Watts (Wesley Chapel, N.C.) with a game-high 18 points and James Murray-Boyles (Columbia, S.C.) added 15 points off the bench as UNC Pembroke used a 12-0 run late in the contest to seal the victory.
Lenoir-Rhyne junior guard
Reed Lucas (Greensboro, N.C.) led the way with 18 points and was one of four players to score in double figures for the Bears despite the loss.
Murray-Boyles hit a lay-up with 4:49 left for a 69-68 advantage and the Braves never trailed again. The Braves held a 40-33 edge in rebounding and limited the Bears to just 34 percent shooting (12-of-35) in the second half in the victory.
Senior forward
JacQues Chambers (Maysville, N.C.) and junior guard
Jarvis Calhoun (Birmingham, Ala.) added 12 points each for the Bears, who saw the Braves hit 22-of-28 free throw attempts on the night. Lenoir-Rhyne also finished with 14 three-pointers on the evening despite the loss.
In the first game of the day, Catawba (1-0) defeated Francis Marion (0-1) by a 75-62 score behind Jameel Taylor's (Anderson, S.C.) 23 points and seven rebounds.
On the second and final day of the SAC/Peach Belt Conference Challenge on Saturday, UNC Pembroke takes on Catawba at 6:00 p.m., while Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Francis Marion at 8:00 p.m.
