HICKORY, N.C. -- It will be the rematch of one of the most memorable finishes in program history when the second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears take on the fifth-seed Limestone Saints in the SAC Tournament Title game on Monday night at 5 p.m. at the Sportsplex at Matthews. Limestone scored three times in the final 1:23 to erase a 3-goal deficit and send the game to overtime. Rob Pensabene's 22nd save -- a program record in a single game -- gave LR a chance to win in OT and Riley Seay netted the winner to give LR an 18-17 victory and secured the No. 2 seed. 

REMATCH: Not only will this be a rematch of the April 15 classic, this is a rematch of last year's SAC Tournament Title game that was played at Moretz Stadium. The Bears topped Limestone 14-11 in the championship game, two days after defeating Wingate. The Bears have now won five straight SAC Tournament games and are looking for their third straight SAC Tournament crown. A win on Monday would pull LR give the Bears its fourth overall SAC Tournament Championship and would send LR past Wingate for the most in the league. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Limestone had to win a SAC Quarterfinal game on Tuesday which they did in a 20-10 decision over fourth-seeded Anderson. The Saints then upset the tournament's top seed in Wingate on Satuday and put up 22 goals in a 22-15 victory. The Saints are averaging 21.0 goals per game in the two games and got five each from Zachary Terry and Jason Thomfohrde. The Bears topped No. 3 seed Newberry 17-8 on Saturday night as Myles Moffat tied the program record of most goals in a SAC Tournament game with five. Toron Eccleston added two goals and three assists and Will Canata had four goals. Rob Pensabene made 15 saves and allowed just eight goals to improve to 6-0 in net.

STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH: The Saints bring a high-powered offense that ranks fifth in the nation at 17.5 goals per game, including the 17 against LR which is the most an opponent has scored against the Bears all season. The LR defense holds opponents to just under eight goals per contest, which is the fourth-best mark in Division II. 

HEAD-TO-HEAD: After losing the first six meetings in the series, Lenoir-Rhyne has gone 5-2 over the last seven against the Saints, including four of the last five. The 18 goals scored by the Bears against Limestone on April 15 ties for the most goals in a game against the Saints in series history. Limestone's 23 goals back in 2016 stand as the most between the two programs in head-to-head situations. This will be the second meeting between the two in SAC Tournament games, with LR holding the 1-0 advantage. This will also be the second neutral site matchup between the two with LR winning the first by a score of 18-16 in Cornelius at the Crown Lacrosse Classic. Limestone holds the all-time series lead 8-5. 

NO STRANGER TO TITLES: Lenoir-Rhyne's Head Coach Greg Paradine is no stranger to some hardware. As a player at North Carolina, Paradine won four straight ACC Regular Season Championships and a 1991 National Championship. As the LR Head Coach, Paradine has orchestrated six SAC Regular Season Championships and three more SAC Tournament Titles and is looking for his 10th overall championship at LR with a win tonight. Limestone, who joined the SAC in 2021, is in search of their first league title but they dominated Conference Carolinas to the tune of 13 straight regular season championships (2007-19) and 11 tournament championships.

IN THE REGION: The all-important regional polls had Lenoir-Rhyne as the fifth-seed on its release at the end of last Wednesday. Since then, the number two (Tampa) and three (Wingate) seeds lost in the Semifinal of their conference tournaments. Limestone was number seven in that poll, with the top six getting in. A win over Wingate will boost the resume but the Saints could use a win over LR as they try to jump Colorado Mesa for the final spot in the tournament field. The selection show is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. 

RECORD BREAKERS: The 2023 Bears have a chance to break some team records which were set by the 2021 squad that advanced to a National Championship game. Lenoir-Rhyne has 158 assists on the year, trailing the 2021 total of 175. Additionally, LR is 35 points away from breaking that team mark of 478 and 30 goals away from becoming the highest scoring team in LR history as the '21 squad scored 303 times. With a minimum of two games remaining, the Bears have a chance to break all three. 

SAINT SCORERS: Limestone's Zachary Terry leads the nation in goals per game with 4.31 scores per contest. Terry's 75 goals on the year and Michael McGarry's 42 give the Saints one of the most potent scoring duos in DII. McGarry had five goals in the April 15 matchup, including the Saints' first three goals of the game, but Terry was held to a pair of goals on 12 shots. McGarry has scored five goals in each of his last two matchups against Limestone with a 5-spot in the SAC Title game last year. 

SCORIN' TORON: With two points tonight, Toron Eccleston would become just the fourth player in LR lacrosse history to top the 200 point mark for his career. Eccleston is second in program history in goals scored with 152.