February 28, 2009

HICKORY, N.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne University Mens Basketball Team (17-9, 12-4) closed out the regular season with an 87-76 victory over Mars Hill College (17-10, 7-9) in a South Atlantic Conference game Saturday evening at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium in Hickory, N.C.

Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C.) led all scorers with 25 points to go along with seven assists as the Bears, the 2008-09 SAC Regular Season Champions, increased their winning streak to seven games.

Elliott McDowell (Canton, N.C.) added 24 points as the Bears saw a 21-point second-half lead cut to one and had to hold on in the end for the victory.

Mars Hills P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished with a team-high 20 points in the losing effort.

Lenoir-Rhyne, which did not trail in the game, raced to a 55-34 advantage with 15:55 remaining on a lay-up by McDowell for its largest advantage of the contest.

However, Mars Hill took advantage of 25 L-R turnovers and used a 35-15 run over a nine-and-half-minute stretch to cut the lead to 70-69 on a pair of free throws by Tony Blake (Canton, N.C.) at the 6:25 mark of the second half.

Lenoir-Rhyne responded, though, with seven straight points started off by a three-pointer at the top of the key by Rudder for a 77-69 lead and Mars Hill couldnt get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Jamarl Glen (District Heights, Md.) added 15 points for the Lions, who finished with 18 steals in the game.

Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars Hill will next compete in the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament, which begins on Wednesday. The official pairings will be announced on Sunday by the league office.

Boxscore...

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