--- Will Perry's layup with 41 seconds left proved to be the game-winner as the Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball team rallied to a 71-68 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Tusculum Saturday night at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.

The Bears (7-5, 6-2 SAC) overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half and used a 14-3 run in the final five minutes to remain undefeated at home this year (5-0).

Tusculum's Addison Flynn led the Pioneers in scoring with 17 points, including 15 in the opening half on his five 3-pointers in the opening 9:41 of the game.

TC sophomore Rory McClure had a career-game on Saturday as he posted 12 points, all coming in the second half as he played the entire game his second career start.

Redshirt freshman Chase Mounce added 11 points, while juniors Darius Carter and Neal Spinks accounted for nine and eight points, respectively. Sophomore Keith Jumper led all players with a career-high 15 rebounds.

Lenoir-Rhyne's R.J. McClure, the older brother of TC's Rory McClure, led all scorers with 22 points, while Will Perry tallied 11 points and Roy Noyes finished with nine markers and seven rebounds for the Bears.

Tusculum (1-13, 0-8 SAC) led 33-31 at the half and later scored six unanswered points to take a 52-41 advantage with 12:57 remaining in the game.

Lenoir-Rhyne trimmed the TC lead to 57-53 after a Tyler Crouch bucket with eight minutes to go in the contest. TC upped its advantage back to eight (63-55) following a Jalen Walker jumper with 4:52 left on the clock. Mark Terrell knocked down a jumper on the ensuing possession, but Rory McClure connected on a pair of free throws as Tusculum led 65-57 with 4:31 remaining.

Lenoir-Rhyne responded with an 8-0 run over the next 2:04 as Noyes capped the L-R spurt with a three-point play to tie the game at 65-65 with 2:27 on the scoreboard. Tusculum turned the ball over on its next possession, but the TC defense forced an errant shot to come up with the rebound with less than two minutes.

Carter was fouled as he made one of two free throws to give the visitors the lead once again at 66-65 with 1:32 left. Will Perry would drive to the lane to score the go-head bucket with 1:06 left and was fouled. He would convert the three-point play for a 68-66 L-R lead.

Rory McClure was fouled on TC's next trip up the floor and made his first free throw, but missed on the second. Spinks came up with the rebound for the Pioneers and was fouled, sending him to the charity stripe. He made the first free throw, but was errant on his second attempt as the game was tied 68-68 with 41 seconds to go.

Following a Lenoir-Rhyne timeout, Will Perry drove to the lane and scored the go-ahead layup with 14 seconds to go for a 70-68 lead.

Tusculum got the ball to mid-court and called a timeout with 11 seconds remaining. The Pioneers would draw up a play and go for the win as they got the ball to Flynn, but his game-winning three-pointer hit off the back of the rim with three seconds left as L-R's Jarrick Brown came down with the rebound and was fouled with 0.7 seconds on the scoreboard. Brown would make the second of two at the line to provide the final margin.

Tusculum erased a 7-0 deficit out of the gate with an 8-0 run of its own that included a pair of treys from Flynn. L-R answered with six straight points thanks to a R.J. McClure trey and three free throws from Will Perry for a 13-8 lead. TC followed with an 11-2 spurt, highlighted by Flynn's three consecutive treys as Tusculum led 19-15 and would eventually take a two-point lead into the locker room (33-31).

Tusculum won the board battle by a 38-26 margin and edged the Bears in field goal percentage (45.7% - 45.6%). L-R, who leads the league in fewest turnovers per game (10.8 tpg), continued that trend with only seven miscues, including just three in the final 20 minutes.

TC shot 18-for-30 from the free throw line on the evening (60%), including just 5-of-12 in the opening half (41.7%). TC bounced back making 13-of-18 in the second half, but made only 3-of-6 down the stretch.

The Pioneers will play its first home game in 35 days when they host nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. contest.