Men's Basketball Battles, Drops Close Conference Contest to Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday Night

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker University men's basketball team battled, but dropped a close South Atlantic Conference to Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday night (Nov. 23) by a score of 67-64.

Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a double-digit lead through the first 10 minutes of play, before the Cobras would find life in the later stages of the first half to close the gap. L-R led 30-17 with six minutes to play in the half, before a 14-6 Coker run left the Cobras trailing by just five at the half.

Coker tied the game at 36 two and a half minutes into the second half, before Lenoir-Rhyne would go on a run to go ahead by double digits with 13 minutes to play. Coker got back within six over the next few possessions, before the Bears pushed their lead back up to 10 with seven and a half minutes to play. Coker would trim the deficit back to five with five and a half minutes to play, before getting back within one with just over a minute to play. Coker would force the Bears to the free throw line, putting them ahead by three with one Coker possession remaining. Coker couldn't come up with the tying bucket in the final seconds.

Coker shot 43.6 percent from the field in the game, including 10 three-pointers. Malcolm Kennedy led Coker with 17 points, while Chandler Lindsey added 15 points, Williams Onyeodi chipped in 14 and Jahnarious Snell contributed 12 points off the bench. Glenn Bynum Jr. added four points, while Christopher Fordham also scored two points in the game. Coker out-rebounded L-R 37-23 in the game, led by nine boards from Onyeodi. Nine other Cobras were active in the rebounding effort. Lindsey dished out a team-high five assists, while five others helped on Coker buckets in the game. Fordham, Kennedy and Snell each had one steal in the game, while Lindsey and Fordham each posted one block in the game.

The Cobras return to action on Saturday (Nov. 27) at No. 13/20 Lincoln Memorial. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. from Harrogate, Tenn., with video and live stats available at www.cokercobras.com.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Williams Onyeodi