HARTSVILLE, SC - The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball team went on the road made a statement on Wednesday night, holding Coker to their lowest scoring output of the season in a 95-77 victory. This gives Lenoir-Rhyne the season sweep over the Cobras, as the Bears won 99-98 in Hickory on December 18th.
Ziare Wells notched his third double-double of the season, finishing with 25 points and 10 boards.
Sam Martin nearly matched Wells, coming through with 24 points and eight boards on 10-11 shooting from the field.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #21 Lenoir-Rhyne 95, Coker 77
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (18-4, 15-3 SAC), Coker (14-7, 10-7 SAC)
Location: Hartsville, S.C. | DeLoach Center
STORY OF THE GAME
- Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 10-5 lead, thanks in part to dunks from Ziare Wells and Tay Smith.
- The Bears continued to break the Cobras press, as a Smith three capped off a 9-0 run that saw LR go up 23-11 with 12:46 left in the opening half.
- Coker made a run and eventually tied the game at 32-32 with less than five minutes left in the period.
- LR closed on a 10-4 run to the end the half and went into the locker room leading 42-36.
- Junior Hodnett pushed the Bears lead to 18 thanks to back-to-back threes just five minutes into the second half.
- Coker cut the lead to nine, but another three from Hodnett and layups from Julian Dozier and Hanz Louis-Jeune pushed the lead up to 22.
- Sam Martin capped off the win with a big dunk near the end of the game.
STATS OF THE MATCH:
- Ziare Wells (25), Sam Martin (24), and Junior Hodnett (17) finished in double-figures for the Bears.
- Wells lead the team with 10 rebounds, while Dozier dished out seven assists.
- Both Wells and Tay Smith finished with four steals.
- Lenoir-Rhyne shot 35-62 (56.%) from the field and 7-15 (46.7%) from three.
- Coker went 28-71 (39.4%) from the field and 13-43 (30.2%) from three.
- Both teams struggled from the line, with the Bears going 18-30 (60%) and the Cobras 8-16 (50%).
- The Bears outscored the Cobras 56-30 in the paint.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Coker, the nation's second second highest scoring team, scored a season-low 77 in the loss.
- Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series 17-6, winning four of the last five.
- The Bears are the nations 10th highest scoring team, averaging 89.8 per contest.
- Lincoln Memorial took down UVA Wise tonight, keeping the Bears one game back in the SAC standings.
UP NEXT: The Bears will be back in Shuford Arena on Saturday when they play host to Mars Hill. The Lions fell 88-74 at Carson-Newman earlier tonight. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.