ROCK HILL, SC - Nothing is easy in the postseason, and it showed in the first round of the SAC Tournament. The Bears outlasted the #7 seeded Anderson Trojans 73-71 in overtime, with Tay Smith hitting the winning jumper with just two seconds left in the game. This was the third time the Bears took down the Trojans this year, with each winning coming by seven points or less. 

Anderson, the nation's 14th most efficient shooting team, was held to just 22-60 (36.7%) from the field, their second lowest output all season. 

Ziare Wells notched a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards, while Julian Dozier led the way with 16 points.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #14 Lenoir-Rhyne 73, Anderson 71 (OT)
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (24-5, 20-4 SAC), Anderson (16-13, 12-12 SAC)
Location: Rock Hill, SC | Rock Hill Sports and Events Center

STORY OF THE GAME

• Thanks to two threes from Tay Smith and one from Julian Dozier, the Bears opened up a 14-7 lead on the Trojans.
• Anderson answered with a 12-0 run to take a 19-14 lead with 8:54 left in the half.
• The Bears battled back, and a late Conrad Luczynski layup put LR up 31-28 at the break.
• The teams battled back-and-forth to open the second half, and with just under 10 minutes remaining the score was knotted at 47-47.
• After a Ziare Wells bucket put the Bears up three with 3:54 left, Anderson scored five unanswered points to re-take the lead.
• Luczynski hit another layup to tie things up with 1:31 left.
• Neither team could capitalize on their late opportunities, sending the game into overtime.
• The teams traded buckets for much of the overtime before a baseline jumper by Smith with two seconds remaining gave the game it's final score.

STATS OF THE MATCH:

• Julian Dozier (16), Tay Smith (15), Ziare Wells (15), and Conrad Luczynski (12) all finished in double-figures.
• Wells' 11 boards led the team, while Dozier's six assists were tops on the squad.
• Sam Martin continued his strong defensive season with four blocks. 
• The Bears won the rebounding battle 48-37. 
• There were 16 lead changes in this game.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This marks the first SAC Tournament victory for the Bears since they defeated Newberry in the quarterfinals on March 1, 2021.
• Ziare Wells now has four double-doubles on the year.
• Julian Dozier's eight boards are an LR career high.
• Sam Martin's career blocks ties him for seven all-time in LR history.

UP NEXT: The Bears will now face the winner of Coker and Catawba on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Coker and Catawba are set to face off in their own quarterfinal matchup tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. from Rock Hill.