WISE, VA. -- Facing a scenario where they needed a win and a Coker loss to advance to the SAC Tournament, the Bears couldn't slow a hot second half from the Cavaliers in a 90-68 loss to conclude the regular season. UVA Wise scored 55 second half points and shot 62.5 percent from the field and went 9-of-15 from 3-point range. 

GAME INFORMATION:
Final:  UVA Wise 90, Lenoir-Rhyne 68
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (11-15, 6-12 SAC), UVA Wise (17-11, 9-9 SAC)
Location: Wise, Va. | David J. Prior Convocation Center

STATS OF THE GAME:
- The Bears had four players score in double figures led by 19 from T.J. Nesmith on 9-of-10 shooting. 
- Cooper Fowler had 13 points and Nas Tyson had 12 while Malik LeGania closed out his LR career with 10 points.
- UVA Wise held a narrow 35-32 lead going into the break but came out scorching in the second half and had a stretch in the middle of the half where they hit 8-of-10 shots.
- The Cavs also hit five of their first six 3-point attempts in the final 20 minutes.
- The Bears held a 48-47 lead with 14:23 to go before the Cavs pulled away.
- Luke Lawson had 28 points and Bradley Dean had 26 as each had 10 field goals.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: 
- The Bears had been one of the best teams in the nation at defending the 3-pointer before UVA Wise hit 16 today at a 52 percent clip.
- LR drops to 5-2 all-time against UVA Wise and lost for the first time in four attempts at Wise. 
- The Bears finish the season with 1,420 all-time wins and have played 2,586 games in their 102 seasons.
- Coker and LR each came in with six league wins but the Cobras had the tiebreaker thanks to a win over Catawba earlier in the season.

UP NEXT:  The Bears will turn their attention to the 2023-24 season.