HICKORY, N.C. - On an afternoon honoring legendary head coach John Lentz, the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears made a statement, defeating Mars Hill 115-65 inside Shuford Arena.

Six Bears reached double figures scoring, led by Akili Evans' 24. Junior Hodnett tied the program record with seven steals, matching the mark set by Tyrone McDaniel and Jeff Haddock in the early 90's. The last time Lenoir-Rhyne scored at least 115 points was a 122-133 loss to Newberry in 2015, and the last time they scored that many points in a victory was in a 116-102 victory over Vorhees during the 1982-83 season. 

A Celebration of Life for coach Lentz is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow in Shuford Arena. All are welcome to attend.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: (RV) Lenoir-Rhyne 115, Mars Hill 65
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne 10-3 (5-1 SAC), Mars Hill 7-4 (2-4 SAC)
Location: Shuford Arena | Hickory, N.C.

STORY OF THE GAME:

• Down 8-7, Akili Evans hit a free throw to spark a 15-0 run to go up 22-8. 
• A Blessin Kimble dunk ignited the crowd and gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 36-17 lead with 8:44 remaining in the half.
• Two late buckets from Julina Dozier and Conrad Luczynski put Lenoir-Rhyne up 60-35 at the break.
• Tyler Burraston hit back-to-back threes midway through the second half to double up the Lions 86-43.
• A Conner Tilley three gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 60 point (113-53) with 4:15 remaining in the game.
• Lenoir-Rhyne went 18-20 from the charity stripe in the scond half to cruise to the 50 point victory. 

STATS OF THE GAME:

• Akili Evans scored 24 points on 8-15 from the field and 5-7 from three. 
• Tyler Burraston went 5-8 from behind the arc to finish with 15 points.
• Conrad Luczynski put up 5's across the board, finishing with 10 points on 5-7 shooting, five rebounds, five blocks, and five assists.
• Junior Hodnett's seven steals tied a program record and contributed to Lenoir-Rhyne's 18 steals on the day.
• Shem Sawy came in late to grab six boards in 11 minutes of action.
• The Bears were 36-58 (52.9%) from the field, 15-32 (46.9%) from three, and 28-33 (84.8%) from the free throw line.
• Mars Hill was 22-57 (38.6%) from the field, 9-28 (32.1%) from three, and 12-17 (70.6%) from the charity stripe.
• Lenoir-Rhyne forced a season high 29 turnovers while only coughing it up 13 times themselves.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Lenoir-Rhyne holds a 57-20 all-time advantage over Mars Hill and won the last five.
• Despite only being 13 games into the season, Conrad Luczynski's 40 blocks are just eight away from entering Lenoir-Rhyne's single season top ten. 
• Luczynski ranks second in the nation in total blocks, only behind Adelphi's Jarnel Rancy.
• Sam Martin continues to lead the conference with a 76.2% field goal percentage. 
• Tyler Burraston is second in the SAC with 34 threes and Julian Dozier is second with 56 assists.

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will take a week and a half off for Christmas before traveling to UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, December 31st, to take on the Braves in a rematch of last year's Southeast Regional Championship. UNC Pembroke is 6-4 (3-0 Conference Carolinas) on the season and recentely defeated Ferrum 79-71 to extend their current winning streak to three. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.