CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) and Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) combined for 48 points and 18 rebounds as the second-seeded and No. 15 nationally-ranked Railsplitters (27-5) advanced to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional semifinals with a wire-to-wire 118-86 win over the seventh-seeded Pfeiffer Falcons (26-5) on Saturday at the Levine Center.
 
Lincoln Memorial, who is heading to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive year, will face sixth-seeded Limestone at 5 p.m. on Sunday, with the winner of that contest advancing to Tuesday's Southeast Regional championship game.
 
"I was proud of our guys," said head coach Josh Schertz. "I thought we played with a lot of purpose and were really locked in. They are a difficult team to guard and play against. It was a good win and we're looking forward to having the opportunity to play again tomorrow."
 
The Railsplitters completely and utterly dominated the interior against the undersized Falcons. Lincoln Memorial outscored Pfeiffer 68-36 in the paint and finished a sizzling 34-for-44 (77.2 percent) on two-point shots.
 
"We knew that if we could handle the pressure that we would have numbers advantages," Schertz said. "We wanted to obviously try to punish them for pressing and not pull it out and run offense, but try to attack it. Having guys like Emanuel and Chris at the back end of the press break offense is a nice deal."
 
All told, the Railsplitters shot 63.8 percent in the contest, went 20-for-29 at the free-throw line and matched the 22nd-most points in the program's single-game history. It was the most points that Lincoln Memorial has scored in a regulation game since a 120-point outburst at Mars Hill in January 2016.  
 
The 6-9 Terry and 6-8 Perry proved to be way too much for Pfeiffer to handle, as that duo combined to go 20-for-24 from the field. Terry scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 19 minutes off the bench, while Perry scored 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks in 19 minutes as well.
 
Four other players finished with double figures for the Railsplitters. Cornelius Taylor (Claxton, Ga.) collected 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.) and Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) had 14 points apiece. Choice also posted eight of the Railsplitters' season-high 24 assists. Deshawn Patterson (Lenoir, N.C.) chipped in 11 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
 
Pfeiffer, who entered the contest averaging a nation-leading 105 points per game, couldn't get anything going against the Railsplitters on the offensive end of the floor, shooting 33.3 percent in the game, which included an ugly 9-for-34 (26.5 percent) effort from three-point range. Most of the Falcons' offensive production came courtesy of offensive rebounds, as Pfeiffer scored 29 second-chance points off of 21 offensive boards.
 
Keith Jumper paced Pfeiffer with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jumper finished 9-for-13 from the field, but the rest of the Falcons went 18-for-68. Andrew Guerrero logged 14 points, but was 5-for-18 from the floor and 1-for-9 from three. Conference Carolinas Player of the Year A.J. Clark had 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting, and Josh Calhoun accounted for 11 points on a 4-of-16 mark.
 
Lincoln Memorial never trailed in the contest and held the outright lead for more than 38 minutes, but Pfeiffer went stride for stride with the Railsplitters early in the first half.
 
A three-pointer from Brian Harper followed by two free throws from Clark tied the game at 11-11 with 14:44 left in the first. A quick 7-3 spurt capped by a triple from Hunter Spaw (Bean Station, Tenn.) put the Railsplitters ahead 18-14 less than a minute later. However, two free throws from Jumper and a three-ball by Calhoun closed the gap to 21-19 at the 13-minute mark.
 
Lincoln Memorial would dominate the remainder of the half, though, using a 29-5 run to build a commanding 50-24 lead on a bucket from Kamaran Calhoun (Suwanee, Ga.) with 4:32 left. The Falcons closed the gap to 22 points on an acrobatic layup by Guerrero with 2:55 remaining and the two teams traded baskets on the final four possessions after that to send the Railsplitters into the half with a 56-34 lead.
 
Pfeiffer started hot in the second half and hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull within 17 at 65-48 with less than 16 minutes left in regulation, but that's as close as it would get. While holding a 19-point advantage, Lincoln Memorial ripped off an 11-3 run to expand its lead to 83-56. Terry had the last six points of that run.
 
The Railsplitters' lead reached 30 at the 5:59 mark after a layup from Spaw and a bucket from Shaw. It would crest at 35 – 114-79 – on a layup from Perry with 2:17 to go before Lincoln Memorial called off the dogs and settled for the 32-point win.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will try to book their second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 on Sunday at 5 p.m. when they face the sixth-seeded Limestone Saints, who upset three-seeded UNC Pembroke 100-85 to advance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Seniors Shaun Stewart (37) and Shaq Dance (31) combined for 68 points in the victory.
 
Quick Hits
 
-The Railsplitters outrebounded the Falcons 46-40 and scarfed up 37 defensive rebounds. Five players finished with at least four rebounds for Lincoln Memorial.
-Thanks to Terry's 25 points and Patterson's 11, the Railsplitters' bench outscored Pfeiffer's second unit 48-20.
-Lincoln Memorial is 1-4 all-time in the semifinal round of the Southeast Regional. The Railsplitters lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament four straight times before finally breaking past that barrier and making a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship game last season.