Box Score HICKORY, N.C. – The fifth-seeded Newberry Wolves shot 87.5 percent from the free throw line on the way to a 98-90 win over the fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Wednesday night.
With the win, Newberry moves to to 18-11 overall on the season and will take on top-seeded Lincoln Memorial (27-2) in the SAC Tournament semifinals at Furman’s Timmons Arena in Greenville at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
The win is head coach Dave Davis’ 100th win at Newberry College.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The game was won at the charity stripe, as the Wolves made 28-of-32 free throws, while L-R made only 7-of-15 free throw attempts.
- Lenoir-Rhyne made 17 three-pointers on 46 attempts (37.0%), while Newberry shot 40.0% (10-of-25) from beyond the arc.
- Five Wolves scored in double figures from the field, led by a 23 point, five rebound and two assist performance from Mitch Riggs, who shot 7-of-13 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
- Xavier Holmes scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting with five rebounds and three steals.
- Ronell Crockett netted 15 points, James Stepp scored 12 points and Mason Spease was good for 10 points.
- Lenoir-Rhyne’s Keenan Palmore led five Bears in double figures with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
- This was Newberry’s second win in three meetings with Lenoir-Rhyne this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bears used outside shooting to take an early lead with a pair of three-pointers by Reed Lucas, taking a 10-5 lead at the 15:26 mark. Newberry scored eight consecutive points to take a lead and L-R’s Billy Bales netted a triple at the 12:55 mark to tie the game at 13-all.
The Wolves then surged by making seven consecutive buckets, with a Crockett layup with just under 10 minutes remaining giving Newberry a 23-13 lead, which was the first double digit lead for either side.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s next three baskets were three-pointers and a Rob Noyes layup cut the lead to four at 28-24 with 7:19 to go. The Wolves went on a 12-4 run with a Spease three-pointer pushing Newberry’s lead to 40-28 with 4:11 in the half.
Newberry made four free throws in the final seconds of the half thanks to a Lenoir-Rhyne technical foul, pushing the lead for the scarlet and gray to 15 points at the halftime break with a 51-36 advantage.
The early second half saw Newberry push its lead to the largest of the night, with a D.J. Copeland triple at the 16:07 mark putting the Wolves up by a 59-40 score. The Bears would chip away at that lead, getting the margin back into single digits at the 11:34 mark on a Bales three-pointer.
The see-saw battle ensued from there, with both sides surging at various points. Scores on four straight Newberry possessions put the lead back at 16 points (78-62) at the 8:25 mark. A three minute drought from the field allowed the Bears back within striking distance with a Chambers three-pointer and layup for the hosts made it 80-72 with 6:42 to play.
Newberry led by 13 heading into the final three minutes before L-R’s outside shooting put a scare into the Wolves. Three straight trifectas from Will Perry cut the margin to 91-86 with 1:05 to play.
From there, Lenoir-Rhyne had to foul the Wolves to try and get back into the game, but the fiery foul shooting of the scarlet and gray would not falter. Newberry made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 2:17 to seal the win and the semifinal berth.
