EVANSVILLE, IN - All good things have to come to an end. Unfortunately for the Bears, that end came on Tuesday night at the hands of Washburn. The Ichabods jumped out to an early 15-4 lead and fended off multiple Lenoir-Rhyne runs to win 90-78 in the first round of the Elite Eight.

This marks the end of arguably the best season in Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball history. This year the Bears set a new record with 29 wins, won their first ever NCAA Regional Championship, won their first SAC Tournament Championship since 2003, and finished the season ranked 23rd in DII in average attendance. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #10 Lenoir-Rhyne 78, #5 Washburn 90
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (29-6, 20-4 SAC), Washburn (30-3, 17-2 MIAA)
Location: Evansville, Ind. | Ford Center

STORY OF THE GAME

• Washburn jumped out of the gate firing, going 5-5 from the field and hitting three free throws to take a quick 15-4 lead. 
• Down 27-14, the Bears cut the lead to five thanks to back-to-back threes from Tay Smith and Hantz Louis-Jeune and two free throws from Junior Hodnett.
• The Ichabods extended their lead back to 12, but the Bears again battled back, cutting the lead to three late in the first half thanks to a three pointer from Smith.
• The teams traded buckets and free throws late and Washburn went into the break leading 46-40.
• Washburn opened up the second half like they did the first, going on a 22-7 run to push their lead to 68-47 with 13:44 left in the game.
• The Bears didn't go down without a fight, as five quick points from Hodnett cut the lead to 12 at the 10:40 mark of the second half.
• Julian Dozier hit a three to make it 83-76 Washburn with 3:44 left, but it was too little, too late, as the Ichabods finished strong to take this one by 12.

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• Junior Hodnett led the Bears with a Lenoir-Rhyne career high 19 points on 5-9 from three.
• Hantz Louis-Jeune (14), Sam Martin (11), Tay Smith (10), and Julian Dozier (10) joined Hodnett in double figures.
• Ziare Wells flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
• The Bears were 26-64 (40.6%) from the field and 9-24 (37.5%) from three.
• Washburn went 31-58 (53.4%) from the field and 10-21 (47.6%) from three.
• Both teams shot it well from the charity stripe, with LR going 17-20 (75%) and Washburn going 18-21 (85.7%).
• The Ichabods won the fast break battle, outscoring the Bears 24-5 in that category.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This was the first NCAA Elite Eight in school history.
• Lenoir-Rhyne was the five seed and Washburn the four seed.
• Sam Martin finishes the season ranked ninth in school history for single season shooting percentage (60.9%).
• Julian Dozier ranks fifth in single season assists (172) and fourth in steals (66).
• Tay Smith is in a tie for eighth with 58 steals.
• The Bears scored 3,050 points this season, a new school record.
• The Ichabods will face off against No. 1 seeded Nova Southeastern on Thursday in the semi-finals.