HICKORY, NC - The Bears were worth the wait. After going on the road for their first six games of the season, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball team showed out in their home opener, taking down Wingate by a score of 81-67. They were led yet again by
Ziare Wells, who had 22 points and is now averaging 18.9 points on the young campaign.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 81, Wingate 67
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne 5-2 (3-1 SAC), Wingate 0-4 (0-3 SAC)
Location: Hickory, NC | Shuford Arena
STORY OF THE GAME:
- The teams traded buckets early on before a Junior Hodnett three put the Bears up 16-9 eight minutes into the game.
- Back-to-back dunks from Hantz Louis-Jeune and Sam Martin gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 32-15 lead with 5:11 remaining in the half.
- Wingate closed on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 34-26 at the break.
- A Tay Smith jumper ignited a quick 7-0 Lenoir-Ryhne run early in the second half.
- Ziare Wells put the Bears up 18 with a fastbreak dunk with 4:31 left in the game.
- Wingate managed to cut the lead to eight, but the Bears hit their free throws late to seal the win.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Ziare Wells led the Bears with 22 points on 8-18 shooting.
- Hantz Louis-Jeune (15), Tay Smith (11), and Julian Dozier (11) joined Wells in double figures.
- Julian Dozier led the team with six assists, while Sam Martin was tops with five blocks.
- Lenoir-Rhyne shot 29-59 (49.2%) from the field and 8-21 (38.1%) from three.
- Wingate was just 23-67 (34.3%) from the field and 6-21 (28.6%) from three.
- Both teams went 15-18 from the free throw line.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Sam Martin's five blocks ties a career high.
- Ziare Wells has led the Bears in scoring in all but two games this season.
- The Bears are now 46-33 all-time against the Bulldogs and have won three of the last four.
- This is Lenoir-Rhyne's best start to a season since the 2020-21 campaign.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will be back at home this Saturday when they host UVA Wise. The Cavaliers currently sit at 3-2 (1-1 SAC) and are facing Catawba tonight. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Anyone who purchases a ticket for the NCAA DII Playoff football game earlier that day will be able to use that to get into both the men's and women's basketball games.
