Saturday,
February 16, 2002
LENOIR-RHYNE
SLIPS PAST PRESBYTERIAN 65-62 IN SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
MEN’S BASKETBALL ACTION
Bears’ Pitts hits a free throw with :03 seconds left to seal
win
CLINTON,
SC — Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore center Ryan Pitts (Baltimore, MD) hit a free throw with :03 seconds left to
lift the Bears to a 65-62 win over Presbyterian College in
South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Saturday
afternoon.
The Bears took a 31-26 lead
at intermission thanks in part to shooting 56.0% from the
field in the first half. Freshman guard Tony
Connelly (Charlotte, NC) led the way with seven first half
points. The Blue Hose struggled
from the first half to shoot 36.4% from the field.
The second half saw the
Bears use a 12-4 run to take a commanding 43-31 lead at the
14:58 mark of the second half. Presbyterian fought back and
used a 17-5 run in the next five minutes to tie the game at
48-48 with 9:34 remaining. Sophomore guard Andrew Dellinger (Mauertown,
VA) and sophomore forward Ben
Touchberry (Blacksburg, SC) each hit a three-pointer
during the run.
Minutes later, the Blue
Hose took their first lead since early first half at 50-49
with 6:23 remaining on a pair of free throws by junior center Rod
Isom (Anderson, SC). The lead would not last as
Lenoir-Rhyne responded with a three-pointer by Connelly to
retake and extend their lead to 59-54
at the 3:27 mark.
The teams exchanged baskets
until PC cut the lead to 64-62 on a layup by junior guard Chuck Rayford (Greenville, SC) with
:05 seconds remaining. After a Blue Hose foul, Pitts sank one
of two free throws to seal the win for the Bears.
Connelly led the Bears with
17 points while Pitts added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Rounding out the double figure scorers for Lenoir-Rhyne was
freshman Roman Davis (Walnut Cove, NC) who came off the bench for 11 points.
Presbyterian was led by
Rayford’s game-high 22 points while Isom added 14 points and
five rebounds. Rayford and Isom combined to shoot 17-of-20 at
the charity stripe for the game. Dellinger chipped in 13
points on four-of-six shooting from three-point land.
Lenoir-Rhyne improves to
9-15 overall and 7-5 in league play while Presbyterian falls
to 10-14 overall and 3-9 in the SAC.