LENOIR-RHYNE ADVANCES TO THE SAC FINALS WITH AN 84-82 WIN OVER PRESBYTERIAN IN OVERTIME

Hickory , N.C. - The second seeded Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne College (17-11) advanced to the finals of the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference with an 84-82 victory over the third seed, Presbyterian College (18-11) tonight in the CVCC Multipurpose Arena.  The Bears will meet #4 Tusculum College tomorrow in the championship game at 4:00 p.m. Tusculum defeated #1 Catawba College earlier today, 76-72.

Freshman guard Josh Rudder led the Bears, who are now 5-0 against the Blue Hose in SAC Tournament contests.  The native of Graham, North Carolina and graduate of Southern Alamance High School, poured in a career-high 30 points to go along with six three pointers.  Rudder's previous high was 14 points.

Lenoir-Rhyne, behind eight first-half three pointers, rolled to a 35-22 lead out of the gate and led at half by a 46-37 margin. 

However, the Blue Hose, who had five players in double figures, fought their way back and went ahead by seven, 67-60.  Lenoir-Rhyne forged ahead again, thanks to back-to-back treys from Rudder including a four-point play, and took a 74-70 lead.  PC answered with four points including a jump shot by Johann Collins ( Raleigh , N.C. ) that sent the game to overtime.

The lead swung back in forth in the extra frame and Lenoir-Rhyne took the lead for good on a dunk by sophomore guard Stephen Hinds ( Winston-Salem , N.C. ), who finished with 13 points.  PC missed three shots on its last possession and the Bears hung on for the win.

Senior guard Tony Connelly ( Charlotte , N.C. ) added 16 points while Sean Dixon ( Marietta , Ga. ) led the Blue Hose with 18 points. Sophomore forward Grant Herren ( Oviedo , Fla. ) added 15 points and six rebounds for the Blue Hose.

PC head coach Gregg Nibert was pleased with his team's effort. "I am so proud of our team and the way we hung in there. Dixon played hard and he had to take a couple of tough shots out there that didn’t fall for him. This team has been fun to coach. We have worked hard all season. We have a very young team and I am already looking forward to next season. I think our best days are ahead of us.”

“We got down nine and we could have packed it in, but like we’ve done all year, we just kept battling and battling,” L-R head coach John Lentz said.”

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