GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Hantz Louis-Jeune scored 18 points to lead a balanced offensive attack as the 18th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 79-72 South Atlantic Conference win over Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
With the victory, the Bears (16-3, 13-2 SAC) sweep the season series over Tusculum for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. LR wins its fourth in a row and coupled with sixth-ranked Lincoln Memorial's road loss at Wingate, the Bears jump back into first place in the conference standings.
LR's Sam Martin added 17 points, Conrad Luczynski posted 16 and Julian Dozer contributed 10 points and a game-high seven assists.
Tusculum sophomore Bryce Jackson led all scorers with his 21 points to go along with four assists. Freshman Taj Kimber added 17 points off the bench while junior Malachi Hale posted 13 points on his three 3-pointers in a reserve role.
Lenoir-Rhyne locked down the paint in the first half limiting eight points in the lane while shooting a blistering 17-of-26 in the opening 20 minutes to take a 38-28 lead at halftime. The Bears extended the lead to as many as 16 in the second half before Tusculum mounted a late-game charge to trail by 75-72 with less than a minute remaining. LR connected on its final four free throw attempts and TU came up empty on its last two possessions as the Bears held on for the victory.
Lenoir-Rhyne finished the game shooting 60.4 percent (32-of-53) from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Tusculum went 28-of-72 from the floor for 39 percent including 8-of-35 from three-point territory (23%). TU went 8-of-12 from the line and made only four trips to the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes.
The Bears held a 39-30 advantage in rebounding with Ziare Wells leading the way with seven boards to go along with his eight points of the LR bench. TU senior Akeem Odusipe, who entered the game as the league's top rebounder, was limited to just six rebounds and six points in the contest. Sophomore TJ Printup scored nine points in his first start of the season.
Tusculum (4-15, 4-11 SAC) will be on the road for two games next week, beginning with Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. rematch at Limestone University. The Saints edged the Pioneers 73-70 earlier this month in Greeneville.
