HobbsDailyReport.com
GREENVILLE, Tenn. – Add another feather to Lenoir-Rhyne University’s cap in men’s basketball.
The fifth-seeded Bears reached 20 wins and earned a semifinal bid in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) tournament on Wednesday night, beating fourth-seeded Tusculum 70-58 on the road.
THOMAS
LRU (20-9) battles top-seeded Queens (28-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in a semifinal at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C.
The tournament final is at 4 p.m. on Sunday and the winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II tournament.
LRU is one step deeper in the SAC bracket for the first time since beating Carson-Newman 111-109 in 2009.
Tusculum dropped to 16-13.
The Bears pulled away from the Pioneers in the final four minutes with a 9-0 run. Tusculum hit a 3-pointer to get within 55-54 before R.J. Gunn hit a 3-pointer for LRU that started the 9-0 run.
LRU center Bertrand Awana was 4-for-4 from the field and finished with eight points and eight boards to go with two assists and two blocks.
Cory Thomas scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting that included 9-of-13 from the free throw line. He added eight boards and three assists.
Djibril Diallo scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Darius Simmons and Gunn each scored nine points.
Trenton Gibson led the Pioneers with 22 points while playing all 40 minutes. Tusculum was held to 37.7 percent shooting.
The Bears won despite shooting just 3-for-22 from long range.
LRU had lost five straight quarterfinal games.
The Bears’ 20 wins are second-best in the last 11 years, trailing only a 21-win team in 2015-16.
- Reported by LRU Sports Information