GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The No. 2 nationally-ranked and top-seeded Railsplitters (28-2) booked their fourth consecutive trip to the South Atlantic Conference Championship title game with a wire-to-wire 105-81 win over the fifth-seeded Newberry Wolves (18-12) in the tournament's semifinal round on Saturday at Furman's Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C.
 
Lincoln Memorial, which extended its overall winning streak to 18 games and notched its 23rd straight win against a SAC opponent, will try to claim the program's third SAC tournament title on Sunday at 4 p.m., when the Railsplitters face the winner of No. 2 Queens and No. 3 Wingate.
 
The Railsplitters hit 43 of their 73 shots for a 58.9 percent clip and went 13-for-30 (43.3 percent) from three-point range to surpass the century mark for the 14th time this season. Lincoln Memorial accomplished that while holding the nation's third-highest scoring attack 15 points below its average, as Newberry finished shooting 44.6 percent, which included a 7-for-23 mark (30.4 percent) from three-point territory.
 
It was another complete effort across the board for Lincoln Memorial with contributions coming from almost every player that stepped on the floor.
 
Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the way with 30 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting, notching his third 30-point outburst of the 2015-16 campaign. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) scored 15 points, handed out six assists and recorded a pair of steals, while Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) chipped in 12 points with four blocks and countless other altered shots. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) nearly posted a triple-double in front of his hometown crowd, racking up eight points, nine rebounds and five assists. Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) scored a season-high seven points, with all of those coming in the opening half.
 
If there was any area in which the Railsplitters struggled, it was ball security, as Lincoln Memorial matched a season-high mark with 18 turnovers that led to 21 points for the Wolves.
 
Simmons scored on the Railsplitters' first possession and Choice buried a three less than a minute later to put the Railsplitters in front 5-0, giving Lincoln Memorial a lead that it would never relinquish. Newberry wouldn't make its first basket of the game until Mason Spease drained a three-pointer at the 16:49 mark, as the Wolves started 4-for-16 from the field while Lincoln Memorial raced out to a 19-9 lead on a jumper by Terry with 11 minutes left in the half.
 
A quick 7-0 Newberry spurt closed the gap to 19-13 at the 9:45 mark, but the Railsplitters pushed their lead back to 10 points at 28-18 on a layup from Steele at 6:40. Five more points from Steele increased LMU's advantage to 37-24 with 4:25 left in the half, however, Ronell Crockett scored six unanswered points for the Wolves to trim the deficit to 37-30 less than two minutes later.
 
Steele would continue to carry the Railsplitters' attack over the final two and a half minutes of the half, though, scoring eight of LMU's last 12 points to send the 'Splitters into the break leading 49-35. Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.) capped the half with a tip-in at the buzzer.
 
The Railsplitters held the Wolves to 40 percent shooting in the opening half while forcing 11 turnovers.
 
A couple of dunks from Terry paired with a Choice jumper kept the Railsplitters ahead 55-41 a little over two minutes into the second half, but a three-pointer from Brandon Taylor and two Xavier Holmes free throws cut the lead to nine points right before the under-16 media timeout. However, a 9-0 LMU spurt finished off by an old-fashioned three-pointer play from Webb gave the Railsplitters their largest lead of the game at 64-46 with 15 minutes left.
 
The Wolves would make one last run after that, pulling to within 12 points at 70-58 on a DJ Copeland layup at the 11:13 mark. But a jumper by Pinson and a three from Simmons capped a 7-1 run that put Lincoln Memorial ahead 77-59 with 9:44 to play.
 
The Railsplitters' lead wouldn't dip below 13 points for the remainder of the game, while a bucket from Steele made it 89-68 with a hair under seven minutes left. Steele and Choice would then bury back-to-back three-pointers to put the game out of reach.
 
Holmes paced the Wolves with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Taylor was the only other Newberry player in double figures, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of work. Crockett added nine points, while Gerald Evans and Dhonte Ford scored eight points apiece.
 
With the loss, Newberry's season comes to a close with an 18-12 overall record.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters will be making their fifth appearance in the SAC tournament title game under head coach Josh Schertz. Lincoln Memorial won the tournament championship in both 2011 and 2014...The Railsplitters beat Newberry for the eighth straight time and ended the Wolves' season in the SAC tournament semis for the second time (2014)...Lincoln Memorial outrebounded the Wolves 40-32 and scored 11 second-chance points off of seven offensive boards...The Railsplitters scored 100-plus points against Newberry for the fourth time in the last five meetings...The Railsplitters' 58.9 percent mark represents their fourth-best field-goal percentage in a game this season...Webb had six points, five rebounds and five assists in 19 minutes off the bench
 
Up Next
Lincoln Memorial will square off against the winner of No. 2 Queens and No. 3 Wingate in the title game of the SAC Championship on Sunday at 4 p.m.