HICKORY, NC - Winning in the SAC is a challenge, and Anderson proved it tonight. Despite having just an 8-11 conference record, the Trojans gave the Bears all they could handle, slowing the game down and forcing LR to make outside jumpers. Despite their plan working early on, the Bears outlasted the Trojans 85-78 on Wednesday night in Shuford Arena. 

Lenoir-Rhyne was led in points by Ziare Wells, who finished with 19 on 8-12 shooting. Freshman Shem Sawy proved to be the spark off the bench the Bears needed, as he finished with a career high 12 points on 6-8 shooting from the field, including a powerful dunk to end the first half. 

This gives the Bears the season sweep over Anderson, as LR won 78-74 when the teams met in January in South Carolina. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #16 Lenoir-Rhyne 85, Anderson 78
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (20-4, 17-3 SAC), Anderson (12-11, 8-11 SAC)
Location: Hickory, NC | Shuford Arena

STORY OF THE GAME

• Lenoir-Rhyne came out hot, going up 14-3 after six minutes of play.
• Anderson came back firing, going on a 18-6 run to take a 21-20 lead with 7:26 left in the half.
• Down 32-29 with just a few seconds remaining, Shem Sawy pumped faked his defender in the air and slammed home a dunk to give LR the momentum going into the break.
• The teams traded buckets early, but a Gabe Cerda three gave LR the lead for good with 12:26 remaining in the game.
• His three sparked a 12-3 LR run which but the home side ahead 66-57.
• Up 73-66, Sawy and Julian Dozier combined to score the final 12 points of the game for the Bears, leading them to the seven-point victory.

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• Ziare Wells (19), Julian Dozier (16), Shem Sawy (12), and Sam Martin (10) all finished in double figures.
• Wells led with eight rebounds while Dozier dished out six assists.
• LR outscored Anderson 50-36 in the paint. 
• As a team the Bears shot 36-63 (57.1%) from the field and 5-18 (27.8%) from three. 
• Anderson went 32-66 (48.5%) from the field and 10-29 (34.5%) from three.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Lenoir-Rhyne is now 12-18 all-time against the Trojans and have won three of their last five.
• This is the most points the Bears have scored against Anderson since an 89-85 win on Febuary 8th, 2020.
• Ziare Wells leads the Bears with 430 total points this season, good for an average of 17.9 a game.
• Carson-Newman lost to Tusculum tonight, widening the gap between the second and third spot in the SAC standings.

UP NEXT: The Bears hit the road for their biggest game of the season on Saturday, a matchup with #7 Lincoln Memorial. This game has large implications for both the SAC Regular Season Title and the Southeast Regional rankings. The Bears gave the Railsplitters one of their two losses earlier this season in a 79-77 victory in Shuford Arena on January 4th. Tipoff this Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m.