HICKORY, N.C. - The Bears made a statement on Friday, defeating the visiting Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters 99-63 in Shuford Arena. This included a 54-28 second half advantage for the home side.
Keyishon Miller led the way with 16 points on an efficient 5-7 from the field, 2-3 from three, and 4-4 from the charity stripe.
Tyler Burraston continues to shoot the lights out, going 5-6 from three for 15 points.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Lenoir-Rhyne 99, Lincoln Memorial 63
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (16-4, 10-2 SAC), Lincoln Memorial (11-7, 7-5 SAC)
Location: Hickory, N.C. | Shuford Arena
STORY OF THE GAME:
- Sam Martin capped off a 16-4 run to start the game with a steal and a slam.
- The Railsplitters inched back, eventually tying the game at 26-26 with 7:34 remaining in the half.
- Late threes from Junior Hodnett, Tyler Burraston, and Keyishon Miller gave the Bears a 45-35 lead at the break.
- After an Amhad Jarrard layup cut the Lenoir-Rhyne lead to 50-46 the Bears blew the game open, going on a 29-2 run over the next nine minutes to take a 79-48 lead.
- From there Lenoir-Rhyne cruised to the 36-point victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Joining Miller and Burraston in double-figures was Junior Hodnett (15) and Akili Evans (14).
- Conrad Luczynski finished with five blocks.
- Miller nearly notched a double-double with eight boards.
- Lenoir-Rhyne scored 33 points off 19 Railsplitter turnovers.
- The Bears were 32-61 (52.5%) from the field, 11-24 (45.8%) from three, and 24-39 (61.5%) from the free throw line.
- Lincoln Memorial was 19-58 (32.8%) from the field, 6-20 (30%) from three, and 19-23 (82.6%) from the charity stripe.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Lincoln Memorial still holds a 29-15 lead in the all-time series, but the Bears have won threee straight and four of the last five.
- Tyler Burraston is second in the SAC and fifth in NCAA DII with a .470 three point percentage.
- As a team Lenoir-Rhyne is third in the country in three point percentage a .412.
- Lenoir-Rhyne is second in the SAC, one game behind Anderson.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne heads to Salisbury to face off against Catawba next Wednesday. The Catawba Indians (14-4, 9-3 SAC) are coming off a 71-56 win over Carson-Newman and have won nine of their last 10 games. These two teams met once before this season, a 75-71 win for the Bears in Shuford. Tip-off for next week's contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.