HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The second-ranked Railsplitters (20-0, 14-0 SAC) survived the scare of the season in a narrow 62-58 triumph over the Coker Cobras (8-10, 7-7 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action on Saturday afternoon in Hartsville, S.C. Lincoln Memorial retained its title as the last remaining unbeaten in Division II and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 20 with the victory.

The Cobras ended the Railsplitters' streak of consecutive wins by a double-digit margin at 11, as Lincoln Memorial won by less than 10 points for just the fourth time this season. Coker was on the losing end of the Railsplitters' most recent single-digit victory as well, a 79-71 win on December 6 in Harrogate.

The Railsplitters struggled mightily in the first half, making just 10 of their 29 shot attempts (34.5 percent) with a 3-for-10 effort from three-point territory. Thankfully, the defense held up during that offensive drought, limiting the Cobras to just 36 percent shooting with a 9-for-25 clip over that same span. Despite its offensive woes, Lincoln Memorial was able to carry a 26-25 cushion into the break.

LMU seemed to wrangle control of the contest early in the second half, opening the frame with a 6-0 run to grab a 32-25 advantage on Dorian Pinson's (Greenville, S.C.) layup with 18:30 left. Donte Samuels buried a three to end the run, but the Railsplitters extended the lead to 37-28 on a Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) three-pointer at 16:54.

In the first of many rallies, Samuels and Errick Bethel combined to score eight unanswered points and pulled the Cobras to within one at 37-36 with 12:53 to play. But the Railsplitters used a 10-0 spurt, capped by a Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.) layup, to take their largest lead of the game at 47-36 with 9:40 remaining.

The Cobras kept coming, though, trimming the deficit back to 53-52 on a clutch Bethel triple at 4:52. But the Railsplitters continually had an answer to every Coker run, getting a jumper by Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) and a three by Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) to push the lead to 58-52 with three minutes left.

The Railsplitters continued to hold sway, extending the advantage to 60-53 on a Choice layup at 1:19, but poor free throw shooting down the stretch nearly undid the nation's second-ranked team. Lincoln Memorial went 0-for-4 at the stripe in its next two possessions, while Trey Marshall scored five unanswered points to cut the lead to 60-58 with 20 ticks left. Choice was fouled on the ensuing in-bounds pass, and the Laurens, S.C. native coolly drained both of his freebies to push the lead back to two possessions. Samuels' three-pointer went begging on Coker's final opportunity as the Railsplitters escaped with a four-point win.

Lincoln Memorial was much more efficient in the second half, shooting 54.5 percent (12-for-22) as a team while draining four of its eight three-point tries. The Railsplitters finished the contest shooting 43.1 percent (22-for-51) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from three and 52.4 percent (11-for-21) at the free throw line. Nine of LMU's 10 misses at the charity stripe were in the second half.

Peterson tallied his second straight double-double and his fourth of the season, leading the Railsplitters with 19 points and 13 rebounds in 36 minutes of work. Choice was the only other LMU player to hit double digits, as he scored 10 points with two three-pointers. Webb and Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) pitched in nine points apiece off of the bench.

Senior point guard Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) was limited to a season-low four points, but he still became the 25th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Ross entered Saturday's contest needing just two points to reach that milestone. He is 63 points away from surpassing Cam Carden for 24th all-time on LMU's career scoring list.

With the win, Lincoln Memorial claims the only two 20-game winning streaks in South Atlantic Conference history. The 2010-11 squad broke the league's single-season record by opening the season with 22 consecutive victories.

Coker shot the exact same percentage as the Railsplitters on the exact same number of shots, going 22-for-51 from the field for a 43.1 percent clip. The Cobras went 6-for-13 from three and 8-for-13 at the free throw line. They were the first opponent to shoot better than 40 percent from three against the Railsplitters this season.   

Errick Bethel led all players with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Donte Samuels poured in 19 points with an 8-for-17 mark. Trey Marshall added 12 points and six assists, as that trio accounted for all but five of the Cobras' points. Trey James was scoreless in the affair, but grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Coker.

The Railsplitters return to Tex Turner Arena on Wednesday, February 4 for a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Carson-Newman Eagles. Tip-off in that contest is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Harrogate.