FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA - Led by a career high 30 points from
Hantz Louis-Jeune, the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears got their second win of the season on Wednesday night, taking down Emmanuel 94-88 in a high scoring battle. This was a big win for Coach Owen's Bears, as Emmanuel went 26-7 last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 94, Emmanuel 88
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne 2-1, Emmanuel 1-1
Location: Franklin Springs, Georgia | Shaw Athletic Center
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Back-to-back layups from Tay Smith and Hantz Louis-Jeune gave the Bears an early 12-6 lead.
- After the lions tied it at 14-14, LR went on an 8-0 run to go up 22-14.
- Two threes from Junior Hodnett kept the Bears ahead double digits near the end of the first.
- Sam Martin and Louis-Jeune each made layups at the end of the half to give LR a 41-27 lead at the break.
- After Emmanuel cut the lead to two, Julian Dozier knocked down a three to stop the Lions' momentum.
- The Bears quickly got out to an eight-point lead, before the Lions cut it to one with just 3:32 remaining in the game.
- Clutch buckets from Hodnett, Louis-Jeune, and Conrad Luczynski helped secure the win for the Bears.
- Hantz Louis-Jeune scored his 30 points on 12-19 from the field.
- Sam Martin (14), Ziare Wells (14), Tay Smith (12), and Conrad Luczynski (11) all finished in double figures.
- Martin nearly notched a double-double, finishing with nine boards.
- The Bears dominated the paint, outscoring the Lions 64-24 down low.
- Lenoir-Rhyne shot 39-69 (56.5%) from the field and 5-17 (29.4%) from three.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Louis-Jeune's 30 points are the most a Bear has scored in a game since TJ Nesmith scored 31 against Tusculum on February 11, 2023.
- Lenoir-Rhyne had six dunks in the game.
- Big man Conrad Luczynski and point guard Julian Dozier are tied for the team lead this season with 11 assists each.
UP NEXT: The Bears open conference play this Saturday with a trip to Carson-Newman. The Eagles currently sit at a record of 4-1 and are ranked 24th in this week's D2CSC Poll.