The Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Basketball Team dropped a tough 82-68 decision to 12th ranked Queens at the Levine Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears buried a season-high 17 3-pointers but shot just 34.8 percent from the field in the game. Darius Simmons came off the bench to score 20 points and went 6-for-8 from long range. Simmons went 4-for-5 from the three-point line against the Royals at the Levine Center a season ago.
R.J. Gunn and Tyson McClain added 10 points and Nas Tyson chipped in nine.
The Bears didn't go to the free throw line at all in the first half and attempted just six free throws all night.
Queens led the entire contest and had four players score in double figures. Daniel Carr and Jermaine Patterson each had 17 points and Gavin Rains had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Queens shot 50.8 percent from the field on the game and 53.3 percent in the second half. The Royals also converted 41.4 percent from long range.
Lenoir-Rhyne upset the Royals last season in the Levine Center on January 30 and knocked the Royals out of the SAC Tournament. In each of those wins, LR topped Queens by double digits.
Just a handful of games into the season, the SAC boasts only three teams with undefeated records in league play. Lincoln Memorial (3-0), Queens (2-0) and Mars Hill (2-0) have not lost in conference play.
Queens entered the week ranked No. 2 in the D2SIDA Regional Rankings. Lenoir-Rhyne entered the week tied for eighth.
The Bears are 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears will continue a five-game road swing when they travel to Anderson on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m.