ROCK HILL, S.C. -- The Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball team saw its season come to a close in a narrow 73-69 defeat against top-seeded Lincoln Memorial in the SAC Tournament Quarterfinal on Tuesday afternoon. The Bears furious comeback attempt came just short as LR fought to erase a 14-point second half deficit.
GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Lincoln Memorial 73, Lenoir-Rhyne 69
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (15-14), Lincoln Memorial (23-7)
Location: Rock Hill,S.C. | Rock Hill Sports & Event Center
STATS OF THE GAME:
- On top of trailing by 14 in the second half, LR was down 10 with just 47 seconds to play before the Bears mounted a furious comeback attempt. Cooper Fowler hit a triple with 34 seconds to go to make it 65-58 but LMU nailed a pair of free throws with 29 seconds to play.
- Jaheim Taylor hit three free throws with 23 second to play but LMU went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe at the other end to make it 69-61.
- Jaquias Franklin netted a triple to make it 70-66 with seven seconds to go and Fowler's three after LMU went 1-of-2 from the line made it 71-69 with three seconds left.
- However, LMU got the ball in and hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
- In his final game as a Bear, Nas Tyson poured in a game-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Fowler's finale saw him finish with 18 points and six boards in his 17 minutes of action.
- The duo went 16-of-24 from the field. However, the rest of the team managed to hit just 9-of-34.
- LR held the Railsplitters to just 43.9 percent shooting. LMU also went just 3-of-16 from long range.
- Wes Enis and Osmar Garcia-Araujo each had 17 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- LR is now 26-25 all-time in South Atlantic Conference Tournament games. This was the 29th all-time appearance in the SAC Tournament for LR.
- The Bears held LMU to their second-lowest scoring total since Jan. 24. LMU scored 113 in their regular season finale against Limestone.
- The Bears have met the Railsplitters in the first round of the conference tournament each of their past two appearances.
- LR is 2-2 all-time against LMU in the SAC Tournament.
UP NEXT: The Bears turn their attention to the 2024-25 season which will tipoff in early November.