HICKORY, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team wrapped up the regular season with a win over Lincoln Memorial and now turn their attention to the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Bears will travel to Tusculum for a 7 p.m. tipoff in the SAC Quarterfinal.
The Bears are no stranger to close games and tomorrow's opponent has split a pair of one-possession games with LR this season. The Bears topped Tusculum 77-74 inside Shuford Gym in the first head-to-head matchup this season but the Pioneers protected their home court in the rematch. Tusculum held the Bears to their lowest scoring output of the season in a 58-55 Pioneer victory in mid-February.
"Our guys have done a great job of being even keel about their wins and losses in all of our close games," said third-year Head Coach
Everick Sullivan. "We have to look at what we didn't do well in our loss and what we did well in our win."
Tusculum enters on a six-game winning streak and both programs beat Lincoln Memorial last week, handing the Railsplitters an unfamiliar two-game losing skid.
For LR, a victory would mean a 20-win season and trip to Greenville, S.C. for the semifinal against the winner of Queens and Carson-Newman. The Bears remain the only team to beat the Royals in league play and boast victories over each of the tournament's top four seeds.
"We have a tremendous amount of confidence knowing we can play against anyone in the league and we can win on any given night," said Sullivan. "However, it's not all about the talent, it's about the team that makes the least mistakes."
A win would also mean a homecoming for senior PG
Jon Jean who spent his first three seasons at Furman – the host of the semifinal and final round of the SAC Tournament – before transferring into Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Bears are 8-5 on the road this season and play better away from home in many aspects. On the road, LR shoots 40.6 percent from three as a team, compared to 32.8 percent at home and LR averages a full two points more per game on the road while turning the ball over less.
