HICKORY, N.C. – Freshman Colten McCracken scored with four seconds left in overtime to give Lenoir-Rhyne a spot in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals. The Bears recorded their biggest second half comeback, erasing Tampa's five-goal lead to win by one. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne 16, No. 4 Tampa 15
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (14-1), Tampa (10-1)
Location: Moretz Stadium

STATS OF THE GAME:

• The Bears struck first and then forced a Tampa shot clock violation before the Spartans regained the momentum. Tampa scored the next seven straight before Dickinson scored with five seconds left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 7-2.
• Dickinson's goal started a 4-0 spurt for the Bears to make it 7-5 with 7:06 left in the first half. However, Tampa would extend the lead to 10-5 with three straight goals to close out the first half. 
• Bryce Reece took over early in the second half and scored three of LR's first four goals. The last cut the Tampa lead to 12-9 with 8:19 to play and ignited a 5-0 LR run. 
• Kyle Hatcher scored three goals, two of which with LR on the man advantage, and Toron Eccleston netted one as the Bears took a 13-12 advantage with five goals in just 4:54 of game time. 
• Tampa would regain the lead with a pair of goals to close out the fourth quarter but Hatcher evened the game. Myles Moffat gave LR a 15-14 lead with 11:53 to play but Tampa's Ben French tied the game with 5:33 to play. 
• Each team had chances to win late but LR goalkeeper Noah Johnson made a handful of tremendous saves down the stretch as the game went into overtime. 
• It looked like a second OT period would be necessary as time was running out in the first 4-minute period. A Tampa turnover led to a breakaway and McCracken found himself in open field. The freshman spun past a pair of defenders and put it past the goalie with just four seconds to play. 
• Hatcher and Reece led the Bears with four goals each and Dickinson had two goals and four assists. 
• Going against one of the top faceoff men in the country, Zach Bodeau went 19-of-34 with 11 ground balls, his second straight double-digit ground ball performance. 
• Johnson finished with 12 saves in the victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Bears ended Tampa's 18-game winning streak and handed the Spartans their first loss since May 11, 2019. 
• This is the Bears second NCAA Tournament win and second appearance in the National Semifinals.
• The last overtime game played by LR came back on March 20, 2019 at Queens. The last OT game at home was on Feb. 17, 2018 when the Bears beat Seton Hill 14-13 in double overtime.
• Dickinson moved his career total to 196 career goals, which ranks seventh in Division II history.
• LR had erased a four-goal second half deficit twice in program history. In the OT win against Seton Hill and on April 1, 2012 in a win over Rollins.  
• This is Lenoir-Rhyne's fifth win over a ranked team this year and the second straight win over a top five team.
• McCracken's goal was just his seventh on the season.

UP NEXT:  The Bears will host Wingate next Sunday at 1 p.m. in the NCAA South Regional Final and with a spot in the National Championship on the line. Tickets are available at lrbears.com/tickets