Jefferson City, Tenn. - The Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball team played in their second overtime game this week, handing Carson-Newman an 87-81 loss.
Two Bears,
Conrad Luczynski (22p, 11r) and
Akili Evans (21p, 10r) finished with double-doubles while
Julian Dozier tied a career high with 24.
With the win the Bears locked up the #2 seed in the SAC Tournament and will face off against #7 seed Emory & Henry on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: (RV) Lenoir-Rhyne 87, Carson-Newman 81
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (23-7, 17-5 SAC), Carson-Newman (18-10, 13-9 SAC)
Location: Jefferson City, Tenn. | Holt Fieldhouse
STORY OF THE GAME:
- A Julian Dozier bucket put the Bears up from the jump, a lead they would hold until the 7:35 mark of the first half.
- The teams traded buckets over the final seven minutes of the half and went into the break locked at 32-32.
- Lenoir-Rhyne looked to pull away early in the second half as threes from Tyler Burraston and Julian Dozier pushed the lead to eight, 44-36.
- Despite being down for nearly the entire second half, Carson-Newman kept the Bears within arms length and eventually took a lead with 6:26 left.
- A layup from Conrad Luczynski tied the game at 74-74 with four seconds left, sending it to overtime.
- Junior Hodnett hit two key jumpers and Julian Dozier went 4-for-4 at the line down the stretch to seal the win.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Julian Dozier, Conrad Luczynski, and Akili Evans combined to score 67 of Lenoir-Rhyne's 87 points.
- Four Bears finished with three assists.
- Lucznyski and Sam Martin each had two blocks.
- Carson-Newman's Jack Browder led all scorers with 39 points and was 21-for-21 at the free throw line.
- Lenoir-Rhyne was 31-63 (49.2%) from the field, 8-20 (40%) from three, and 17-27 (63%) from the free throw line.
- Carson-Newman went 23-71 (32.4%) from the field, 9-28 (32.1%) from three, and 26-29 (89.7%) from the free throw line.
- Bench scoring was low in this one as the Bears outscored the Eagles 11-0.
- The teams tied 44-44 in total rebounds with Carson-Newman holding a 20-15 edge in offensive boards.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- This win ties the all-time series at 39-39.
- Lenoir-Rhyne hasn't beaten Carson-Newman twice in the same season since 2018-19.
- This was the Bears' first overtime victory of the year.
- This will be the seventh time Lenoir-Rhyne enters the SAC Tournament as the #2 seed.
- Three of the Bears' six SAC Championships came as a #2 seed (1992, 1993, 2025).
- Lenoir-Rhyne also entered last year's postseason with 23 wins.
UP NEXT: The Bears open up SAC Tournament play on Wednesday with a battle against Emory & Henry. These teams split their season series, with Lenoir-Rhyne winning 95-87 in Hickory and Emory & Henry winning 93-86 in Virginia. Tip-off for Wednesday's contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.