NEWBERRY – Thanks to hot shooting and stingy defense in the second half, the Newberry College men's basketball team erased a 10-point halftime deficit and earned a 71-66 victory over visiting Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday night in Eleazer Arena.

Newberry (3-9, 2-5 South Atlantic Conference) was led by Drake Downs' 20 points on a crisp 10 for 15 night from the floor and a team-high nine rebounds. As a team, the Wolves made 21 of 30 shots in the second half (70%) including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. The Wolves made 31 shots total for the game, a new season-high.

Four other Wolves joined Downs in double figures including James Lovorn who had another successful night, drilling 3 of 4 3-pointers en route to a 13-point effort, and Jalen Johnson with 12 points.

Malik Joseph netted 11 and shot 50% from the field (5 of 10) and Caleb Byrd scored 10.

The first half was a defensive battle with neither team gaining more than a six-point edge over the first 15 minutes. Lenoir-Rhyne (9-6, 4-3 South Atlantic Conference) held a 22-20 edge with 3:46 to play before closing on a 10-2 run to take a 32-22 lead into the break.

After trading buckets to start the second half with the score 37-27, Newberry went on a 6-0 run to make it 37-33 by the first media timeout with 15:23 left in the game.

A Byrd 3-pointer and a layup from Downs made it a one-point game out of the timeout – 39-38 – two minutes later. LR responded with an 11-3 run of its own over the next four minutes to restore a nine-point margin with 9:43 left.

Back-to-back 3s from Johnson and Byrd and another layup from Downs quickly brought the Wolves back in it at 50-49 at the 8:30 mark. Newberry tied it four times – at 55, 58, 60 and 62 – before regaining a 64-62 lead on a Johnson offensive putback for their first lead since 18-17 in the first half.

Downs and Lovorn combined for the Wolves' final seven points to ensure victory for the Scarlet and Gray.

Newberry outrebounded the Bears 34-30 on the night; won the turnover battle 12-9; outscored LR 38-34 in the paint; and had 13 second-chance points to the Bears' 6 thanks to a dozen offensive rebounds.

The Wolves have a quick turnaround as they play host to Coker on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Eleazer Arena in more SAC action.