HICKORY, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team outlasted Tusculum 77-74 on Saturday afternoon to earn their 10th victory of the season. The Bears have now won three straight over the Pioneers and are 11-2 against Tusculum over the last 13 head-to-head matchups. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 77, Tusculum 74
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (10-3, 3-2 SAC), Tusculum (4-8, 0-4) 
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Gymnasium

STATS OF THE GAME:
•    The game was tied at 41-41 before Deontae Weaver took over. The junior scored 14 straight LR points, including four straight 3-pointers, as the Bears extended the lead to 55-47.  
•    For the second straight game, Djibril Diallo got the Bears off to a hot start. The senior guard scored the first eight points for LR after scoring 11 of the game's first 21 points for the Bears in a Dec. 19 victory at Belmont Abbey. Diallo finished with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. 
•    Bertrand Awana scored in double figures for the second straight game, finishing with 10 points and adding eight boards. Awana has gone 9-for-16 over his last two contests and has blocked at least one shot in 11 of the Bears 13 games this year. 
 •   Jon Jean would add 12 points and five assists to go along with four rebounds. Jean went 5-for-7 from the field and committed just one turnover. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
•    The Bears kept Tusculum winless in South Atlantic Conference play on the season. However, the Pioneers have been a victim of some tough luck this season with three of their conference losses have been by five points or less. 
•    The Tusculum bench outscored the LR reserves by a total of 41-25. Brandon Mitchell led the visitors with 20 points off the bench on 8-of-11 shooting. 

UP NEXT:
LR is back in action on Wednesday with a mid-week matchup at Wingate. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.