The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team, playing its first game in 23 days, fell at Lenoir-Rhyne 66-63 this evening in the opening round of the 2008 Moretz Sports Classic. The Abbey falls to 5-2, while the Bears improve to 5-5.

Belmont Abbey shot 33.9 percent (20-59) from the field as junior forward Chad Patus led the way with 20 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor. He added ten free throws on 11 attempts while pulling down three rebounds in 39 minutes. Sophomore guard Richard Barbee added 13 points on 6-15 shooting, while leading the Crusaders with eight rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes. Senior guard Jonathan Jackson added 12 points, eight coming from the free throw line, in 33 minutes.

Lenoir-Rhyne shot 51 percent (25-49) from the floor as Elliott McDowell led all scorers with 21 points, while Marcus Hodges added 14 and D.J. Blackmon finished with 12.

The Abbey wraps up the tournament tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 when it will face nationally-ranked Catawba College.