The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team (3-0) remained undefeated on the season after rallying for a 55-51 win over Fayetteville State (1-2) Friday evening in the 47th annual Pickle Classic at Kornegay Arena.

L-R junior guard R.J. McClure (Canton, N.C.) led all scorers with 16 points while sophomore guard Denzel Dillingham (Hickory, N.C.) also scored double figures as he finished with 12 points as the Bears started the year with three wins for the first time in four seasons.
Fayetteville State's Tyrrel Tate (Raleigh, N.C.) and Louis Craft (Fayetteville, N.C.) each scored a team-high 11 points despite the loss.
The Bears fell behind by a 35-25 score with 16:09 remaining in the contest on a pair of free throws by Tate but came back to take the victory.
With the score tied at 46 with two minutes left, McClure gave the Bears the lead for good with a three-pointer. The trey was McClure's third of the night.
Lenoir-Rhyne limited Fayetteville State to just 36 percent shooting (15-of-42) for the contest and forced the Broncos into 25 turnovers in the win.
L-R faces West Virginia State on the final day of the classic Saturday beginning at 5:00 p.m. Fayetteville State, meanwhile, plays the host school, Mount Olive, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., in the last contest.

L-R 55, FAYETTEVILLE STATE 51

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Fayetteville State............   21   30  -   51
Lenoir-Rhyne..................   22   33  -   55

FSU: MARCUS 5, TATE 11, CRAFT 11 (8 REBOUNDS), BEST 2, SHELTON 9, FIELDS 6, LANE 2, DONNELL 5. FG: 15-42, 3FG: 3-16, FT: 18-21. 36 REBOUNDS, 5 ASSISTS, 25 TURNOVERS.

L-R: BEASLEY 7 (10 REBOUNDS), KUNZ 6, PERRY 3 (5 ASSISTS), McCLURE 16, DILLINGHAM 12, NOYES 4, BEVERLEY 7. FG: 15-48, 3FG: 5-20, FT: 20-27. 30 REBOUNDS, 11 ASSISTS, 15 TURNOVERS.

Photo Courtesy: R.J. McClure, L-R Athletics