CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team was held to just 39.3 percent shooting in a season-opening loss to Emmanuel on Friday night. This was the first loss by Lenoir-Rhyne in the SAC/Peach Belt Crossover since 2017.

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Emmanuel 80, Lenoir-Rhyne 65
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (0-1) | Emmaniel (1-0)
Location: Curry Arena

STATS AND INFO:
- LR ended the 2020-21 season in Queens, with a loss in the conference tournament
- The Bears lost to Emmanuel for the first time in series history as LR owns a 3-1 edge after tonight
- LR remains with 1,399 all-time wins in program history
- This is the first time an opponent has shot over 50 percent from three against LR since Queens did on Dec. 2.

FIRST HALF:
- LR led 27-24 with 5:25 left in the first half before an Emmanuel 3-pointer tied the game with under five to go
- After Emmanuel jumped ahead 30-29, the Lions closed out the first half on a 15-2 run to take a 45-32 advantage into the break
-  LR went just 6-for-11 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes
-  Emmanuel was scorching in the first half, hitting 58.3 percent from the field and going 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from long range

SECOND HALF:
- The Bears were even colder in the second half, hitting just 36.7 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from long range
- Emmanuel outscored the Bears by two over the final 20 minutes to grab the 15-point victory
- The Lions hit 45.1 percent from the field and went 4-of-10 from deep

ABOUT THE BEARS:
- Tim Steele led LR wiht13 points and went 5-of-7 from the field
- Jalen Johnson (11 points) and Kevin Kangu (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers for LR
- Johnson had a team-high seven boards
- LR played four players newcomers to the program and 12 different players saw action

NOTABLE LIONS:
- Four different players scored in double figures, led by 15 from Kelvin Jones and Tyonn Stuckey
- Isaiah Foster went 4-for-4 from the field, all from long range, in just 15 minutes of action
- Jones added a team-high eight boards

UP NEXT: The Bears will return to action tomorrow night in Queens when they take on Young Harris at 7:30 p.m.