HICKORY, NC - You can't teach effort, and the Bears had a lot of it on Saturday. Unfortunately, despite the late game heroics of Julian Dozier and Ziare Wells, the Bears fell 114-111 in double-overtime to the visiting Carson-Newman Eagles. 

This was a scrappy game, as there were a combined 45 personal fouls, 30 turnovers, and four foul outs. Four Bears scored in double-figures in this one, led by career highs from both Ziare Wells (33) and Tay Smith (27). 

Not to be outdone was Julian Dozier, who stuffed the statsheet with 19 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and five steals. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #16 Lenoir-Rhyne 82, Wingate 77
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (17-3, 14-2 SAC), Wingate (8-9, 7-8 SAC)
Location: Wingate, NC | Cuddy Arena

STORY OF THE GAME

• Lenoir-Rhyne clung to an early lead in this one, with Tay Smith putting the home side up 12-9 with an ally oop dunk off the pass from Julian Dozier.
• Down 24-23 with 7:56 left in the first half, a Ziare Wells jumper sparked an 11-0 run that saw the Bears take a 34-24 advantage with a few minutes left in the half.
• After a few buckets from both teams, the Bears took a 38-32 lead into the locker room. 
• The Bears looked like they would pull away early in the second half, as multiple buckets from Wells put the Bears up 52-40 just five minutes into the frame.
• The Eagles stormed back, going on a 14-3 run to cut the LR lead to one.
• After a back-and-forth battle late, the Eagles took a 75-71 advantage with two minutes remaining. Two late layups from Julian Dozier, including one at the buzzer, sent the game into overtime.
• Carson-Newman came out firing in OT, opening on a 15-7 run to go up 90-82 with 1:46 left in the game.
• Down six with 38 seconds left, Smith hit a three, which was followed by a Hantz Louis-Jeune steal and score to make it a one-point game.
• Despite C-N going 4-4 from the free throw line over the final seconds, a Julian Dozier layup and free throw kept the Bears within striking distance.
• Wells tipped in a late free throw miss with one second remaining to send the game into a second overtime.
• Lenoir-Rhyne went up 103-101 early in the period, but hot shooting from the field and stripe put the Eagles up 111-107 with 36 seconds to play.
• Gabe Cerda tied things up with a free throw with seven seconds remaining, but the Eagles were fouled on a last second three pointer and hit all three to secure the win.

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• After scoring a combined 150 points in 40 minutes of regulation, they scored 75 points in just 10 minutes of extra time.
• The Eagles made it tough on the Bears in overtime, as they went 10-12 from the field, 4-5 from three, and 15-17 from the charity stripe over the final 10 minutes of play.
• Ziare Wells (33), Tay Smith (27), Hantz Louis-Jeune (19), and Julian Dozier (19) all scored in double-figures for the Bears.
• Sam Martin led the way with six blocks and seven boards. 
• The Bears were 44-97 (45.4%) from the field and 7-29 (24.1%) from three.
• Carson-Newman went 39-72 (54.2%) from the field and 14-27 (51.9%) from three.
• The Bears defense forced 21 turnovers while only committing nine of their own.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This was Lenoir-Rhyne's first double overtime game since a 93-86 2 OT win over Mars Hill on January 12th, 2019.
• The Bears have now scored over 100 points in four games this season, with two of those coming against Carson-Newman.
• Thanks to their win over Anderson, Lincoln Memorial now sits one game up on the Bears for first place in the conference standings.
• Lenoir-Rhyne is now 37-39 all-time against the Eagles with their last win coming on January 8th, 2020. 

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne's schedule won't get any easier, as they hit the road next Wednesday to take on Coker. The Cobras have put up at least 100 points in four of their last five games and are coming off a 131-117 win at Mars Hill earlier tonight. These teams met once already, with the Bears ending Coker's undefeated start with a 99-98 win in Shuford. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.