JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Malik Abraham buried a jumper as time expired to lift the Carson-Newman Eagles (4-0, 1-0 SAC) to a 111-109 overtime win over the No. 12 Railsplitters (3-2, 0-1 SAC) in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Tuesday night inside of a rowdy Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tenn.
 
The loss ended a number of impressive streaks for Lincoln Memorial, who suffered consecutive losses for the first time since February 2012. It also ended a 29-game regular-season SAC winning streak and was the Railsplitters' first SAC road loss since falling by two points at Carson-Newman on February 5, 2014, a stretch of 24-straight wins.
 
"I thought our effort level was better than it was Saturday," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said. "Our toughness level is still below zero. You look at the second half and how many offensive rebounds, second and third opportunities did they get. Their want to, their hunger was greater than ours. The toughness level is still so far from where it needs to be."
 
While the last seven meetings between Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman were decided by double figures, the 202nd all-time clash between the long-time rivals will certainly go down as one of the all-time classics in the series. Over 45 minutes of riveting action, the lead changed hands 22 times while it was tied on 17 separate occasions. Neither team led by more than seven points in the entire contest.
 
Five players finished in double figures for the Railsplitters, a quintet led by Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.), who put up 25 points on 5-for-6 shooting from three-point range. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) logged his third double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) logged 22 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Cornelius Taylor (Claxton, Ga.) chipped in 13 points, while Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
 
The Railsplitters got whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it offensively, shooting 58.3 percent from the field with an 8-for-12 mark from three-point range. Carson-Newman was almost equally as effective, shooting 49.4 percent with a 7-for-13 clip from long range. The Eagles also converted 26 of their 30 free-throw attempts as compared to a 17-for-23 effort for the Railsplitters.
 
In addition to that, Carson-Newman outrebounded the Railsplitters 39-36, including a 22-13 edge in the second half. All told, the Eagles corralled 13 offensive boards, which led to seven more shot attempts than Lincoln Memorial.
 
"Credit to Carson-Newman, they made a lot of big plays," Schertz said. "I thought we grew some tonight from effort and execution standpoint. But defensively and toughness on the backboards, we are nowhere near where we need to be to be a good basketball team and that's got to change."
 
The first half set the stage for what would be a back-and-forth contest  
 
A couple of quick baskets by Sawyer Williams helped the Eagles open on an 11-4 run, but the Railsplitters settled in after that shaky start and answered with an 11-2 run to take a 15-13 lead on a dunk from Perry at the 14-minute mark.
 
From there, the lead changed hands multiple times and neither team led by more than three points until the Railsplitters used back-to-back dunks from Perry and Terry to pull ahead 34-30 at the 6:21 mark. Lincoln Memorial later extended its lead to 38-33, but Carson-Newman responded with a 7-0 run to take a 40-38 lead on a bucket from Zack Pangallo.
 
However, the Railsplitters answered with a 7-0 run of their own and eventually carried a 53-46 lead into the break following a last-second running lay-up from Rudy Bibb-Boyd (Gainesville, Fla.).
 
The Railsplitters continued to lead by seven points at 57-50 after a bucket from Choice at the 17:42 mark of the second half, but the Eagles punched back with an 8-0 spurt to take a 58-57 lead on a pair of free throws by Williams.
 
Neither team led by more than six points after that, but Lincoln Memorial carried a 92-89 lead into the final media timeout of the half after a jumper from Terry.
 
That wouldn't hold, though, as the Eagles catapulted ahead 93-92 with 2:18 left on a pair of free throws from Clark. Carson-Newman maintained that one-point cushion at 95-94 with one minute to go after Williams scored a running lay-up over Terry and Perry.
 
The Railsplitters answered right back on the other end and took a 97-95 lead on a triple by Choice with 45 seconds left, but Shaun Jones scored a circus lay-up on the other end to draw it back even with 30 seconds to go. Neither team got up a shot in the final possession to send the game to overtime.
 
It was all Carson-Newman early in the overtime period, as a bucket by Williams put the Eagles ahead 107-102 with 52 seconds to go. Pinson trimmed the lead to 107-104 with a pair of free throws on the other end, but Clark extended the lead back to five with two free throws of his own.
 
The Railsplitters made a furious comeback, though, as Choice buried a three before LMU forced a Carson-Newman turnover. In the ensuing possession, Taylor's game-tying shot attempt missed the mark, but Paul Woodson (Cincinnati, Ohio) grabbed the offensive rebound and converted the putback to tie it up.
 
However, the Eagles quickly inbounded the ball and found Abraham on the other side of the LMU defense. He pulled up and knocked down the long two-pointer as time expired to push the Eagles past the Railsplitters.
 
Charles Clark and Shaun Jones led the Eagles with 26 points apiece. Clark scored 15 of his 26 in the second half, while Jones led Carson-Newman with 11 rebounds. Sawyer Williams pitched in 18 points and eight rebounds, while Malik Abraham notched 15 points, including the biggest points of the game. Mason Bates had 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
 
With the win, Carson-Newman evened the all-time series 101-101.
 
The Railsplitters will look to halt their two-game skid on Saturday, November 26 when they travel to Wise, Va. to face the Virginia-Wise Cavaliers at 4 p.m. in nonconference action.