MORROW, GA - The Bears fought hard, but a veteran Chowan squad took down LR 81-68 in both teams' season opener. Leading the way for the Bears was Sam Martin, who went 4-7 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line to finish with 15 points in just 20 minutes. Making his Lenoir-Rhyne debut, center Conrad Luczynski just missed out on a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine boards.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 68, Chowan 81
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne 0-1, Chowan 1-0
Location: Morrow, Georgia

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• The Bears went down 11-0 early, before a Conrad Luczynski bucket stopped the bleeding.
• His bucket sparked an 11-0 run, capped off by a Gabe Cerda tip in.
• Down 21-14, Tay Smith capped off a 12-0 run by the Bears to put them ahead 26-21.
• A Junior Hodnett free throw with 3:44 left in the half gave the Bears an eight point lead, their largest of the game.
• Chowan closed strong, taking a 41-40 lead into the break.
• Sam Martin scored 11 of LR's first 21 points of the second half.
• A Luczynski layup tied the game at 63-63 with 4:21 remaining in the game.
• Chowan hit six straight free throws and knocked in a three to pull away from the Bears late.
• Sam Martin (15), Conrad Luczynski (14), and Junior Hodnett (10) all scored in double figures for the Bears.
• Hantz Louis-Jeune led with four assists.
• Julian Dozier notched three steals in the game.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The Bears struggled from the line, going just 17-for-32 at the charity stripe, compared to 24-for-31 for Chowan.
• Dylan Askew led the Hawks with 24 points.
• The Bears are just 1-4 in their last five games against the Hawks, winning in December of 2022.

UP NEXT: The Bears will get a quick chance to even up their record tomorrow as they take on the host Clayton State Lakers. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.