Postgame Interviews

HICKORY, N.C. – Cooper Fowler's buzzer-beater sent the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team to a dramatic 86-85 win over Wingate inside Shuford Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Fowler rebounded Darius Simmons' three-point attempt and caught the rebound in mid-air from the free throw line and his jump shot found the bottom of the net to send LR to victory.

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 86, Wingate 85
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (6-2, 6-2 SAC) | Wingate (6-4, 6-4 SAC)
Location: Shuford Gymnasium

STATS AND INFO:
- For the second straight game, Lenoir-Rhyne erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and came out on top
- Lenoir-Rhyne trailed 74-64 with 5:59 to play before Simmons and R.J. Gunn took over the game
- Simmons scored nine straight points for LR to help cut the lead to 74-73 before Gunn had six straight points
- Six different players scored in double figures for the Bears

FIRST HALF:
- Both teams executed well on the offensive end in the opening half. Wingate shot 63.3 percent from the field while the Bears converted on 52.9 percent of their attempts
- Wingate went into the break with a narrow 45-42 advantage thanks to 13 points off the bench from Andreas Wilson
- Wilson went 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from long range in the first 20 minutes to lead all scorers. Jarren Cottingham had 10 for the Bulldogs

SECOND HALF:
- Wingate built the lead to double digits for the first time in the game with just under six minutes to play before the Bears stormed back
- Gunn finished with 13 of his 16 points in the second half and Simmons had 11 of his 15 in that time frame
- Mason Hawks had nine second-half points including a big three-pointer with the Bears trailing
- LR came all the way back to take a 77-76 lead before Francis Sio buried a 3-pointer to give Wingate the lead back with 2:43 to play
- The back-and-forth game was tied at 81 with under 30 seconds to go when Rashaard Pringle hit a layup for Wingate but Mason Hawks answered with and and-1 to give LR an 84-83 edge with 13 seconds left
- Sio drew a foul with 6.1 seconds to play and calmly sank both free throws to put Wingate back ahead 85-84, setting the stage for Fowler's heroics

ABOUT THE BEARS:
- Hawks (16), Gunn (16), Simmons (15), Fields (13), Fowler (12) and Bradford (10) gave LR six double-digit scorers in the game
- LR won despite hitting just 6-of-25 from long range
- Hawks finished with seven assists and five rebounds
- Fields was 5-for-6 from the field as was Bradford who added three rebounds and four steals

NOTABLE BULLDOGS:
- Cottingham had 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds and two blocks
- Sio had 20 points and was 3-of-5 from long range
- Miguel Priest had a game-high 12 boards, all on the defensive end
- Wilson had 17 but only four in the second half

UP NEXT:
Lenoir-Rhyne returns to action on Saturday as they travel to Coker for a 4:30 p.m. contest.