HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The third-ranked Railsplitters (26-2, 22-0 SAC) completed the first perfect South Atlantic Conference season in the 25-year history of the league on Saturday evening at Tex Turner Arena, tidying up the regular-season schedule with a 95-73 victory over the Catawba Indians (12-16, 10-12 SAC). With the win, Lincoln Memorial wraps up regular-season play with its 16th straight win and 29th consecutive SAC victory.
 
"I'm just awed by our guys to be able to run the table in this league in arguably the best year of the South Atlantic Conference in terms of how tough it is from top to bottom," LMU head men's basketball coach Josh Schertz said. "I told the guys it's been an honor and a privilege to have a courtside seat and watch them perform. Not only have they won, but to have the enthusiasm and the joy they play with is remarkable."
 
The Railsplitters become the first team in SAC history in 50 combined seasons on either the men's or women's side to finish with an unbeaten conference record. Lincoln Memorial also broke its own single-season record for conference wins, which was set by the 2014-15 team that went 21-1.
 
"To accomplish what they have accomplished, the talent and chemistry obviously have to be there," Schertz said. "But along with that, unbelievable heart, an unbelievable amount of intelligence and a remarkable competitive will have to be there. It's all of those things. It's so uncommon to have all of those qualities but our guys have them all."
 
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) led all players with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) piled up 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes of work, while Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) had nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
 
Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) posted 13 points and went 3-for-5 from three-point range to break LMU's single-season record for three-pointers, which he set last season with 100. Now at 101 triples this season, Choice is just the second player in SAC history to can 100 threes in two different seasons. He also added six rebounds, two assists and two steals to his final stat ledger.
 
The Railsplitters shot 48.6 percent (35-for-72) from the field and knocked down 13-of-25 (52 percent) from three-point range. Lincoln Memorial also converted 12 of its 16 free-throw attempts for a 75 percent clip. On the other end of the floor, the Railsplitters held the Indians to 37.3 percent (25-for-67) shooting, including a 3-for-13 mark (23.1 percent) from the three. A huge portion of Catawba's points came at the charity stripe, where they went 20-for-24.
 
Catawba led early in the contest, as Jameel Taylor hit a jumper at the 15:18 mark to put the Indians ahead 12-10. However, a three-pointer from Steele at 13:42 capped an 8-0 run and gave the Railsplitters an 18-12 advantage. The Indians worked back into the game over the next passage of play, though, grabbing a 23-22 lead on two free throws from Reggie Perkins at the 10:36 mark.
 
But that would be Catawba's final lead of the game, as a layup by Pinson, two threes by Choice and a triple by Simmons powered an 11-0 run that saw the Railsplitters race out to a 33-23 lead with eight minutes left in the half.
 
The Indians whittled the deficit back to six points, but another three from Choice followed by a Simmons jumper ballooned the LMU advantage to 42-29 at 4:19. An old-fashioned three-point play from McMillion right before the half kept the lead at 13, but Jerrin Morrison drained a three at the buzzer to cut the Railsplitters' halftime cushion to 48-38.
 
The Railsplitters' lead hovered in the eight to 10-point range early in the second half until an a 9-0 LMU run comprised of two Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.) free throws, a jumper and three from Steele, and a bucket by Choice increased the lead to 66-46 with 13:17 to play.
 
Lincoln Memorial never led by less than 17 points from that point on, while a quick 6-0 spurt pushed the Railsplitters ahead 79-55 with 6:53 left on a bucket from Simmons. The Railsplitters would grab their largest lead of the game at the 3:45 mark, when Simmons canned a three-pointer to make it 88-61.
 
Catawba finished shooting just 33.3 percent in the second half with a 10-for-30 mark.
 
Jameel Taylor led the Indians with 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while Rakeen Brown and Jerrin Morrison scored 11 points apiece.
 
With the regular season now complete, Lincoln Memorial opens the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Wednesday night, as the top-seeded Railsplitters welcome the eight-seeded Tusculum Pioneers to Tex Turner Arena for quarterfinal round action. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for $5 apiece through the LMU ticket box office.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters absolutely obliterated the Indians on the backboards, winning the rebounding battle 55-28. That included 21 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second-chance points...Lincoln Memorial assisted on 16 of its 35 baskets. Webb led that effort, as he produced five points, nine rebounds and six assists...The Railsplitters improved to 17-11 all-time against Catawba and defeated the Indians for the seventh straight time...The Railsplitters enter the SAC Championship looking for their third SAC tournament championship over the past six seasons