Late Shot Sinks Coker at Lenoir-Rhyne

HICKORY, NC. - Conrad Luczynski dumped in a layup with a little under three seconds remaining to hand Coker its first loss of the season Wednesday evening. Coker rallied late, but it was Lenoir-Rhyne making the timely basket to hand the Cobras their first conference loss. 

TOP PERFORMERS:
Jamie Muldowney - 21pts, 4reb

Judson Coan - 17pts, 7reb, 3ast

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Coker came out of the gates hot, pouring in 18 points in the first four minutes of gameplay, thanks in large part to the three point line. The Cobras held a 18-15 lead at the first media timeout, with numerous players spreading the ball well. The next four minutes, Coker continued to stretch its lead with sound defense, causing Lenoir-Rhyne to turn the ball over regularly. The Cobra lead continued to grow out of the media timeout to 38-22, thanks to back to back layups from Jamie Muldowney. That was the biggest it would get for Coker throughout the contest. Over the course of the remaining 10 minutes, the Bears clawed back, erasing the Coker lead. With two free throws right before the break, Lenoir-Rhyne had completely erased the lead and took a 49-47 lead into the half. 

The first four minutes of the second half were key for the Bears as they extended their lead to five over that time period, and held that lead for the majority of the second half. Their lead grew to as many as 10 with five minutes remaining, putting the Cobras in a postion they have seldomly been in this season. Coker continued to fight, going on a 9-0 run over the course of the next three minutes to bring the game within one with a little over a minute remaining. After a Lenoir-Rhyne basket, Sebastian Cole hit a deep step back three pointer to tie the game for the first time the entire second half. Thirty seconds later, the Cobras found themselves trailing by two yet again, but this time it was Jamie Muldowney draining a corner three to give Coker the lead with 14 seconds remaining. Lenoir-Rhyne held the ball for 12 of the final 14 seconds, and center Conrad Luczynski dropped in a layup to give the Bears the one point lead, and the win. 

The Cobras who fought back from down 10 in the second half, shot 47.9% from the field, while making 34 field goals. They drained 14 three pointer, shooting 35.9% from behind the line. The bears, who only made one three pointer, made 24 free throw attempts throughout the contest. Coker assited on 21 baskets, and recorded 36 rebounds on the evening. The Bears did damage in the paint, scoring 68 of their 99 points in the paint, while Coker tallied just 36. Coker added 38 points from the bench, with Jamie Muldowney scoring a team high 21 points. 

UP NEXT:
Coker now turns its attention to their tournament at Embry-Riddle this weekend. The Cobras are set to take on Lees-McRae Friday at 5:00pm.