MARS HILL, N.C. --- The streaking Bears stayed hot, defeating Mars Hill 98-83 on the road on Wednesday evening for their sixth win in the last seven games. Six of the seven players that saw action scored in double figures and Tyson McClain scored eight as the balanced Bears moved into a third-place tie in the South Atlantic Conference.  

Inside the Matchup:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 98, Mars Hill 83
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (10-6, 6-5 SAC), Mars Hill (7-10, 5-6 SAC)
Location: Stanford Arena  I Mars Hill, N.C.

Stats of the Game:

• For the second straight game, the Bears got off to a slow start. After Catawba ran out to an early 12-5 advantage on Saturday, Mars Hill scored the game's first 11 tonight. The Bears would bounce back and outscore the Lions 51-27 over the final 15:43 of the first half to take command.
• Zim Fields poured in a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added six rebounds and a pair of steals. Reigning SAC Player of the Week Darius Simmons poured in a team-high 22 points.
• Freshman Cooper Fowler would post his second double-double of the season, finishing the contest with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Fowler went 2-for-4 from long range to keep his 3-point percentage above 40 percent for the year.
• R.J. Gunn scored 15 points and has reached double-digits in scoring in 15 of 16 games on the season.
• The Bears shot 53.2 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from long range. The Bears hit 11 triples tonight and have hit at least 11 as a team in five of their last six games.
• For the seventh time this season, the Bears allowed an opposing player to score at least 24 points. Javonte Cooke poured in 29 points for Mars Hill on 11-of-19 shooting and added 10 boards. However, the Bears are now 5-2 in games when an opposing player scores at least 24.
• LR held Mars Hill to just 4-for-20 from behind the arc.
  
  Beyond the Box Score:
• Mars Hill entered the game as the worst defensive team in the South Atlantic Conference, giving up 89.1 points per game. Offensively, MHU ranked fourth in the league in points scored per game at 86.
• The Bears scored 51 points in the first half, the second-most for an opening half this season. The only time LR scored more in the first 20 minutes was in the second game of the season where the Bears poured in 54 against Young Harris.
• Today concluded a three-game road swing for the Bears. In that stretch, LR went 3-0.
• 80 is the magic number for the Bears. LR is a perfect 9-0 when they hit the 80-point mark and just 1-6 when they fail to reach 80.
• The only loss since the calendar flipped to 2020 was a 1-point defeat against Newberry.
• The Bears have played 11 games away from Shuford Gym and just five games at home this year. That will change as the Bears have four of the next five games in Hickory.

Up Next:  The Bears return home to host #16/#24 Queens on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game serves as the inaugural Teddy Bear Toss game. For more information on the promotion, click here.