KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time in three years, the Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Basketball Team made the trip out to Rocky Top to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. 

Throughout the full 40 minutes, the Bears exhibited strong growth on the court, but the Volunteers proved to be too much in a 90-48 victory in the preseason exhibition. 

The AP Preseason No. 9 selection came out red-hot to start the contest by scoring the first 15 points en route to a 49-20 first half advantage. 

But after the break, the Bears found themselves in a stride including an 8-0 run thanks to back-to-back three pointers by Conner Tilley and Tay Smith. 

While the result was not what the Bears envisioned, the contest proved to be a great preseason tune-up ahead of next week’s season opener. 

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Tennessee 90, Lenoir-Rhyne 48
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. | Food City Center
 
STATS OF THE GAME:

• Nas Tyson led the Bears in scoring with his 15-point performance on 6-of-14 shooting.
• In his first action as a Bear, Connor Tilley connected on three three-pointers of the bench to finish with nine points, good enough for second-best on the team.
• The best stretch the Bears had on the night was when they connected for four-straight baskets in the second half. Three of those buckets were three-pointers, scored by three different Bears.
• Tennessee converted on 58.8 percent of their shots on the floor in the first half; they went 35.3 percent from behind the arc as well.
• It took a bit of time for the Bears to find their points after they only connected on two of their first 16 shots of the game.
• The Volunteers controlled the paint throughout the night as they outscored the Bears, 50-12.
• LR proved to be scrappy at times as they led the steals battle, 9-4.
• The Bears did an excellent job at keeping their possessions going, as they led in offensive rebounds, 16-10.
• When it came to turnovers, the two teams were very even with a slight advantage towards Tennessee, 12-11. When it came to points off turnovers, the difference was just as small with a 16-15 edge to the Volunteers.
• The Volunteers were the better team in transition as they had 26 fast break points compared to the Bears’ eight.

 
UP NEXT: The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Basketball Team will have its regular season opener against Chowan in the SAC/Conference Carolinas Crossover. The game will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. from Emory, Va.