HICKORY, N.C. – For the first time since 2009, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team will be competing in the semifinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Bears will be taking on top-seeded Queens on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Bears were the only blemish on Queens' regular season SAC schedule as the Royals went 19-1 in league play. On January 30, the Bears handed Queens a 92-79 defeat thanks to a perfect performance from Emmanuel Wembi. The senior center came off the bench to go 7-for-7 and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to pour in a team high 16 points.

In that game, the Bears shot 60 percent from long range in the second half and 61.3 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. Darius Simmons went 4-of-5 from long range and poured in 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

In the first head-to-head matchup, each team entered ranked in the top 25 but Queens came away with a 76-69 victory inside Shuford Gym. The loss halted LR's seven game winning streak to open the campaign and the Bears shot just 24 percent from long range.

Thanks to the quarterfinal win over Tusculum, the Bears reached the 20-win mark for just the second time in 11 years.

A combined six All-Conference players will take the floor on Saturday. LR seniors Djibril Diallo and Cory Thomas were named Second Team and Honorable Mention selections respectively while four Queens players earn All-Conference accolades led by the league's Player of the Year Shaun Willett.

With a win over the Royals, Lenoir-Rhyne would advance to its first SAC Conference Tournament Championship game since 2005. The last time LR cut down the nets at the SAC Tournament was 2003. Queens has advanced to consecutive SAC Championship games, winning in 2017 but falling to Lincoln Memorial a year ago.

The game will be available on ESPN3 as will the championship game.