Feb. 14, 2008

Final Stats

Hickory, N.C. - The No. 20 Lenoir-Rhyne College Men's Basketball Team (18-3, 10-0) won its 11th straight game Wednesday evening, 97-93, over Carson-Newman College (16-5, 7-3) Wednesday evening at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium in a South Atlantic Conference showdown.

The Bears, who kept their two-game lead in the league standings, were led by senior forwards Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte HS) and Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C./Fuquay-Varina HS) with a combined 48 points.

Bratton came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points while Kindred added 23 points, 11 rebounds, and blocked what would have been the game-tying shot with two seconds left to lift L-R to the win.

Clay Scott (Jefferson, Ga.) finished with a team-high 18 points on eight-of-10 shooting for Carson-Newman, who couldn't hold a 12-point (55-43) lead early in the second half.

Lenoir-Rhyne slowly worked its way back into the contest and the game was back-and-forth until Lenoir-Rhyne took the lead for good on a jump shot by Kindred with 1:39 remaining for 92-91 lead.

A three-pointer by sophomore forward Marcus Hodges (Wake Forest, N.C./Pfeiffer Univ.), who finished with 13 points, put the Bears up by four at 95-91 but the game was not decided until Kindred's block in the paint of Andy Tipton's (Maryville, Tenn.) shot with two seconds left. Tipton finished with 14 points despite the loss.

Junior guard Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C./Southern Alamance HS) hit the final two free throws for the Bears with 0.2 seconds left for the four-point victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne, who is 28-1 in its last 29 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season home games, is also 10-0 in league play for the first time since the 1994-95 season and is on its longest winning streak in 15 years.

L-R next travels to Harrogate, Tenn., to face Lincoln Memorial on Saturday at 8 p.m., while Carson-Newman returns home to face Tusculum on Saturday beginning at 8 p.m.