WINGATE, N.C.  – The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse Team fell to No. 13 Wingate in a rematch of the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship. This year's showdown came in the Semifinal round of the conference tournament with the Bulldogs coming away with a 16-8 victory.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Wingate 16, Lenoir-Rhyne 8
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (6-8), Wingate (12-3)
Location: Wingate, N.C. | Graham Gill Field

STATS OF THE GAME:
•  Eric Dickinson netted a hat trick for the Bears, scoring his three goals on nine shots. Dickinson added three ground balls in the contest. 
•  A game after leading the Bears with four goals in a SAC Tournament Quarterfinal win over Newberry, Anthony Fraga added two more to give him six in the conference tournament. Teammate Quinn Kuhn added a goal and an assist and goalie Noah Johnson had a team-high five ground balls to go with 11 saves. 
•  Wingate outlasted the Bears, pulling away with an 8-3 scoring advantage in the second half. Wingate held a 37-24 advantage in shots and dominated the face off battle, winning 24 of 26 times. 
•  Each team converted on 50 percent of their man advantage opportunities and the hosts held a 32-26 lead in ground balls. 
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
•    This marked the end to Lenoir-Rhyne's six game winning streak and also the first time LR has given up more than six goals in a game since Mar. 30. 
•    The Bears, who played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, took on their eighth nationally ranked opponent. More than half of their games in 2019 were against ranked foes. 
 
UP NEXT:
The Bears will turn their attention toward the 2020 season.