HICKORY, N.C. - For just the third time in program history, the Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball team has qualified for back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. Lenoir-Rhyne (24-8, 17-5 SAC) earned the #4 seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional and will face #5 seeded North Georgia on Saturday.
The entire NCAA Southeast Regional will be hosted in Anderson, South Carolina, on the campus of #1 seed Anderson University. The four quarterfinals will take place on Saturday, the two semi-finals on Sunday, and the Southeast Region championship on Tuesday night.
Lenoir-Rhyne enters the tournament as the reigning Southeast Region champions after defeating UNC Pembroke in the championship game last year. This marks the ninth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bears. They also qualified in back-to-back seasons in 2003-2004 and 2008-2009.
North Georgia is 22-7 (14-6 PBC) and fell 64-54 in the Peach Belt Championship to Lander earlier today. This will be a battle between the last two regional champions as the Nighthawks took home the title in 2024. Despite being in the same region these teams have only faced off once in their history, a 58-52 Lenoir-Rhyne victory to open the 1975-76 season.
Quarterfinal Matchups:
#1 Anderson (29-2) vs. #8 Young Harris (22-8)
#2 Lander (25-5) vs. #7 Lincoln Memorial (19-11)
#3 Catawba (23-8) vs. #6 Columbus State (22-8)
#4 Lenoir-Rhyne (24-8) vs. #5 North Georgia (22-7)
Lenoir-Rhyne Fast Facts
- Three All-SAC performers:
- Akili Evans named SAC Newcomer of the Year.
- Tyler Burraston set a new school record with 105 threes on the year.
- Burraston is second in the nation in threes and third in three point percentage (45.9)
- Luczynski set a school record with 78 blocks on the year, which ranks fourth in the country.
- Luczynski is third nationally with a 66.7% field goal percentage.
- The Bears rank first in the nation with a 40.7% three point percentage and third in field goal percentage (51.4%).
- They have shot above 50% in 23 of their 32 games this year.
- Head coach Brent Owen picked up his 50th win as a Bear this year and sits at 99 for his career.
The Southeast Region automatic qualifiers come from the winners of the South Atlantic, Conference Carolinas, and Peach Belt Conference tournaments. The other five teams are chosen as at-large entries from those three conferences.
More info on tickets, game times, live stats, and other media will be released later this week.
