HICKORY, N.C. – The Bears were held to 17 points in the second half as they dropped a fifth straight game on Saturday afternoon. The Bears trailed by four coming out of the break but were outscored 33-17 in the final 20 minutes as Tusculum came away with the victory.

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Tusculum 69, Lenoir-Rhyne 49
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (3-7, 2-5 SAC) I Tusculum (7-4, 7-2 SAC)
Location: Shuford Gymnasium

STATS AND INFO:
- Tusculum had a dominating rebounding performance, owning the glass to the tune of 54 total rebounds and 23 offensive boards
- Conversely, the Bears were held to a season-low 23 rebounds and just two on the offensive end
- No players scored in double figures for LR who were held to 38.5 percent shooting and just 2-of-16 from deep
- The Pioneers had two players with double-doubles and Inady Legiste had 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting off the bench

FIRST HALF:
- LR forced 11 Tusculum turnovers in the first half and trailed just 36-32 at the break
- T.J. Nesmith led LR with eight points and Jalen Johnson had six points and four boards
- The Bears shot 44.8 percent from the field but went just 1-of-9 from long range
- Legiste had 11 points and missed just one shot in the first half

SECOND HALF:
- It was also Tusculum in the second half as the Pioneers held a 32-9 edge on the boards and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds
- Despite shooting just 34.2 percent from the field, Tusculum used the offensive glass to attempt 15 more shots than LR over the final 20 minutes
- The Bears were just 7-of-23 in the second half and had eight turnovers
- After Johnson's bucket at the 7:39 mark to make it 58-46, the Bears were held scoreless for the next 5:01 and didn't make a field goal for six minutes

ABOUT THE BEARS:
- Nesmith had a team-high nine points and Johnson finished with eight points and six boards
- Kevin Kangu added eight points and hit the only pair of 3-pointers for LR on the day
- Cooper Fowler was strong off the bench with eight points and five boards to go with an assist, a steal and a block

NOTABLE PIONEERS:
- Trenton Gibson (15pts, 11reb) and William Vedder (10pts, 10 reb) each notched double-doubles
- Gibson added six assists
- 13 different players saw action

UP NEXT: The Bears continue a four-game home stand with a Monday matinee with Newberry at 4 p.m.