HICKORY, N.C. - In just two seasons at the helm of Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball, head coach Brent Owen has now defeated every team in the South Atlantic Conference. Carson-Newman swept the Bears last season, being the only team in the SAC to do so. Coach Owen and his squad made sure that wouldn't happen again this year, defeating the Eagles 95-71 in Shuford Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Burraston hit five threes in the first half and finished with a season-high 19 to lead the Bears. Conrad Luczynski played 19 minutes and finished just one rebound shy of a double-double (13 points, 9 rebounds).

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #24 Lenoir-Rhyne 95, Carson-Newman 71
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (13-3, 7-1 SAC), Carson-Newman (8-6, 3-5 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena

STORY OF THE GAME:

• Down 8-6, an 18-point Lenoir-Rhyne run, capped off by three consecutive Tyler Burraston threes, put the Bears up 24-8. 
• The 18-point run is the largest run Carson-Newman has given up in over a decade.
• Akili Evans pushed Lenoir-Rhynen's lead to 21 at the 5:21 mark of the first half.
• Lenoir-Rhyne hit three consecutive free throws to close the half up 27 (52-25). 
• Junior Hodnett gave the home side their first 30-point lead with a three to open the second half.
• The teams combined to shoot 43 free throws in the second half, making 35 of them.
• Amarion Savage gave Lenoir-Rhyne 95 points for the second straight game with a late three.

STATS OF THE GAME:

• Tyler Burraston (19), Akili Evans (14), Conrad Luczynski (13), and Blessin Kimble (11) led a balanced Bears scoring effort. 
• Lenoir-Rhyne out-rebounded the Eagles 54-31, including 21 offensive boards.
• Luczynski led the team with nine boards and three blocks.
• Evans dished out a team high five assists.
• Lenoir-Rhyne shot 29-70 (41.4%) from the field, 10-26 (38.5%) from three and 27-33 (81.8%) from the free throw line.
• Carson-Newman was held to just 20-60 (33.3%) from the field, 5-25 (20%) from three, and 26-29 (89.7%) from the charity stripe.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This win broke a nine-game losing streak to the Eagles that dated back to February 12th, 2020.
• Lenoir-Rhyne is now 38-39 all-time against Carson-Newman and 25-11 in Shuford Arena.
• The Bears were ranked 24th in this week's NABC coaches' poll.
• Anderson (8-0) continues to lead the SAC while Catawba (6-2) defeated UVA Wise today to jump into third.

UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will travel to Hartsville, S.C., next Wednesday to take on Coker. The Cobras are riding a 13-game losing streak and fell 69-58 to Emory & Henry earlier today. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.