Hickory, N.C. – Limestone's men's basketball team dropped their South Atlantic Conference game on the road to Lenoir-Rhyne with a final score of 90-62. The Saints drop to a record of 7-10,4-9 SAC and The Bears improved to a record of 15-3,12-2 SAC.
Key Players:

• Sirr Hughes (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) led the team with 16 points, impressive shooting 4-8 from the 3-point line.
• Trevon Payton grabbed 8 rebounds and also scored 10 points.

Story of the Game:
First Half:

• Lenoir-Rhyne made a strong start with Tay Smith scoring a fastbreak dunk and a layup, followed by Julian Dozier's three-pointer, putting Lenoir-Rhyne ahead with a 7-0 lead.
• Limestone responded with a three-pointer from Yaturi Bolton (Goose Creek, SC) and another three-pointer from Hughes, bringing the score to 6-7.
• Isayah Owens (Inman, S.C.) added a layup for Limestone, narrowing the gap to 8-9.
• Lenoir-Rhyne extended their lead with points from Ziare Wells and Tay Smith. Smith also made a successful free throw, making the score 12-8 in favor of Lenoir-Rhyne.
• Owens hit another three-pointer for Limestone, bringing the score to 11-12.
• Hughes followed with a three-pointer for Limestone, closing the gap to 31-23.
• Conrad Luczynski scored a layup for Lenoir-Rhyne, putting them up 33-23.
• Owens hit a free throw, making it 36-24.
• Lenoir-Rhyne's Julian Dozier assisted Ziare Wells in another layup, extending their lead to 38-24

Second Half:

• The Bears continued to strengthen their lead, with Sam Martin contributing a dunk, making the score 53-31.
• Owens hit a three-pointer for Limestone, narrowing the gap to 53-34.
• Julian Dozier made a three-pointer for Lenoir-Rhyne, extending their lead to 56-36.
• Greg McKay (Nassau, Bahamas) made two successful free throws for Limestone, making it 56-38.
• Hantz Louis-Jeune scored a layup for Lenoir-Rhyne, maintaining their lead at 58-38.
• Hughes responded with a three-pointer for Limestone, bringing the score to 58-41.
• Conrad Luczynski scored two free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne, bringing the score to 73-52.
• Junior Hodnett made two successful free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne, increasing their lead to 75-52.
• McKay scored a layup for Limestone, making it 75-54.
• Louis-Jeune scored a free throw for Lenoir-Rhyne, bringing their lead to 81-54.
• Louis-Jeune made two additional free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne, extending the lead to 83-54.
• Sam Martin scored a layup for Lenoir-Rhyne, pushing the score to 85-56.
• Shem Sawy made two successful free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne, bringing the score to 87-56.
• Dylan Goodman hit a three-pointer for Lenoir-Rhyne, increasing their lead to 90-57.
• Owens scored a layup for the Saints, making it 90-59.
• Tre Locklear (Boiling Springs, S.C.) made a layup and a free throw for Limestone, bringing the final to 90-62.

 
Up Next: Limestone will aim to bounce back as they come back home to take on Catawba on Saturday, January 22 starting at 4:00 p.m..