Hickory, N.C.----The Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears shot 58 percent from the field Tuesday night, knocking down 14 triples en route to a 98-88 victory over visiting Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Rob Noyes piled up 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead the LRU attack, going 11-for-13 from the field while adding four blocked shots. Will Perry had 20 points on four-of-seven shooting from three-point range, while two-time SAC Player of the Week Keenan Palmore had 11 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. JacQues Chambers, Billy Bales and Darrion Evans contributed 11 points each for the Bears.

Junior forward Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) had 21 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead the Wingate attack. Freshman Mike Baez (Huntersville, N.C.) added 19 points and four boards, while senior Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) contributed 15 points and four assists. Sophomore forward Lee McCall (Indian Land, S.C.) added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, while junior guard Anthanee Doyle (Holly Springs, N.C.) had nine points.

A Cureton layup gave Wingate a three-point lead six minutes into the opening half, but LRU scored the next eight points, getting two triples from Bales to go on top by five. A three-point play from Noyes made it 27-19 at the midway point of the half, but layups from McCall and Baez trimmed the deficit to four at the 9:08 mark.

Another three from Bales gave the Bears a 35-26 advantage with 6:30 to go. Perry capped a 7-0 Lenoir-Rhyne spurt with a triple that made it 42-29 at the 3:20 mark. A Griffin free throw got Wingate within nine, but another Perry triple helped LRU push the advantage to 14 with 37 seconds left. Doyle buried a three with nine seconds remaining, but a Noyes three at the buzzer gave the Bears a 53-39 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs came out hot in the second half, scoring the first nine points in less than two minutes, cutting the lead to five on Griffin's three-point play at the 18:17 mark. Back-to-back Palmore buckets pushed the lead back to 11 with 15 minutes to go, but a three and a jumper from Baez got the Bulldogs back within six at the 13:07 mark.

Another layup from Noyes gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 70-59 advantage at the midway point of the second half. Layups from Cureton and McCall trimmed the lead back to seven, but Lenoir-Rhyne again had the answer, with an Evans jumper and Miller three making it 79-67 with 7:37 remaining. Another Baez triple cut the lead back to eight with four minutes to go, but Evans responded with a big triple to make it 89-78. The Bulldogs would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Lenoir-Rhyne went 34-for-59 from the field on the night (58 percent), knocking down 14-of-27 shots from beyond the arc (52 percent). Wingate shot 46 percent from the field, while hitting eight-of-18 shots from three-point range (44 percent). LRU held a 38-32 rebounding advantage, with Wingate holding a 12-8 edge in second-chance points. The 'Dogs also held a 38-34 advantage in points in the paint, while the Lenoir-Rhyne bench outscored the Wingate bench 29-13.

The Bulldogs are back in action next Tuesday, hosting No. 20 UNC Pembroke at 8 p.m. on ESPN3.