RALEIGH, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball team will take on North Carolina State in an exhibition tomorrow at noon. The game will take place at 12:00 p.m. in the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.

Both tickets and parking are free for this event. There is no streaming option or radio broadcast, so fans who are not able to make it can follow along with the live stats HERE. 

The NC State Fair will be taking place nearby, with large weekend crowds expected around the fairgrounds and Lenovo Center. Fans attending the exhibition should expect heavy traffic and allow extra travel time. Fans are encouraged to enter through Gate E off Edwards Mill Road or Gate F off Westchase Road via Blue Ridge Road. Plan your approach before leaving and head out early to be inside before tip-off.

Lenoir-Rhyne Notes:

• The Bears and Wolfpack have not faced off in an exhibition match. The last time these teams played was nearly a century ago in 1928, a 36-22 NC State victory. In the early 1920's the Bears and Wolfpack played five times, with NC State winning all five meetings. 
• The most recent exhibition the Bears played was a 90-48 loss to Tennessee on October 31, 2023. 
• Lenoir-Rhyne has won two exhibitions recently. They famously took down Louisville 57-47 in 2022 and defeated The Citadel 97-83 in Hickory in 2017. Their other win over a DI program since the year 2000 came in countable contest against UNC Asheville in 2005, an 81-78 Bear victory. 
• In the past two years, Lenoir-Rhyne has gone 55-15 with NCAA five postseason wins, a SAC Tournament Championship, and an NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2025, the first in program history. 
• The Bears lost eight of their nine top scorers from last season, replacing them with five transfers and three freshman.
• Returners include four-year players Sam Martin and Conner Tilley, third years Chris Crudup and Shem Sawy, and second years Zach Curran, Rogelio Rivera, and Landon Vaughan.
• Lenoir-Rhyne was one of the most efficient teams in the country last season, ranking fourth in the nation ain three point percentage (39.8%), fifth in effective field goal percentage (57.4%), and seventh in overall field goal percentage (50.2%).
• The Bears open their season in Hickory on Monday, November 9th, vs. Young Harris.

NC State Notes:

• This will be the first home game for Justin Gainey, who was announced on March 31, 2026 as the 22nd head coach in NC State men's basketball history.
• A former NC State lettermen, Gainey appeared in 128 games during his NC State career, making 103 starts. His 344 career assists ranked among the program's top 10 when he graduated and currently stands 15th in school history.
• The Wolfpack defeated Mississippi State 77-73 in an exhibition on Sunday, closing the game on a 12-2 run. 
• NC State only brings three players back from last season (Ven-Allen Lubin, Paul McNiel Jr., and Zymichah Wilkins) and just two of those three appeared in a game, but the two players that played last season that are back both set program records and led the ACC in individual offensive statistics.
• The last time NC State faced a DII team was in 2024, when they defeated Lees-McRae 79-75. 
• The Wolfpack open their season on Monday, November 2nd, in the Lenovo Center vs. Campbell.