HICKORY, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team earned its first victory in three weeks with a 72-65 win over Tusculum. 

The guard play of Tay Smith and Nas Tyson powered the Bears past the Pioneers with a combined 35 points and 14-26 shooting from the floor.  

After Wednesday's rough outing, LR came out of the gate with a 42-point first half performance by shooting 56 percent from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three. 

Despite the 15-point edge at the break, Tusculum came roaring back in the second half to cut the deficit to five with 2:12 remaining. However, the Bears locked in to force some poor Tusculum attempts and secure the game from the free throw line. 

With this victory, LR snaps its four-game conference losing streak and ends a stretch of six losses in seven-straight outings. 

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 72, Tusculum 65
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (10-9, 5-6 SAC), Tusculum (7-10, 5-6 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena

STATS OF THE GAME:

• LR dominated in bench scoring by out-producing Tusculum, 21-10. Jalen Miller and Cooper Flower each had seven points off the bench for the Bears.
• The Bears' 51 percent field goal shooting was good enough for the third-best mark of the season. Their 42.9 percent from beyond the arc was the fourth-best percentage of the year.
• LR had lights-out defense from behind the arc, holding Tusculum to 16.7 percent from three. That is the lowest percentage that any team has dialed up against the Bears this season.
• With a 82.4 percent performance from the free throw line, it marks the fourth time in the past six games that the Bears have recorded a top six single-game free-throw percentage.
• Tusculum's Connor Jordan led all scorers with 22 points. The Pioneer guard ended the day with 11-of-19 shooting and the only Tusculum player to connect on more than four field goal attempts.
• Tay Smith's 20-point performance equates to his total point production in the past three games. The junior guard has now four 20+ point games on the season.
• Thanks to his 15-point performance, Nas Tyson becomes the first LR player to cross the 250-point threshold on the season.
• With Cooper Fowler's seven-point showing, the graduate center has now scored at least six point in three of the past four games.
• Tim Steele scored the first five points of the game and ended with 12 points. That mark is the most the senior has scored since his 16-point display against Belmont Abbey on Dec. 19.
• Tusculum won the points in the paint battle, 38-28. Akeem Odusipe, who had most of his points in the interior, was Tusculum's second-leading scorer with 11.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: 

• Lenoir-Rhyne now leads the all-time series, 31-21.
• This victory marks the first time that LR has successfully defended home court against Tusculum since Jan. 5, 2019.
• With the victory, LR improves to 5-6 in conference play, which ties them with Tusculum for seventh in the standings. 
• Thanks to another victory at home, the Bears are now 5-2 in games at Shuford Arena.
• LR also continues to pile onto Tusculum's road struggles with the win. The Pioneers are 1-8 away from Greeneville, Tenn.

UP NEXT: The Bears will hit the road again for a battle between the Wingate Bulldogs. In their last meeting, LR defeated Wingate, 108-105, in double overtime back on Feb. 8, 2023.