HARROGATE, Tenn. – The No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Railsplitters (31-1) face fourth-seeded Clayton State (24-6) in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional on Sunday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. inside of Tex Turner Arena. The winner will advance to the Southeast Regional championship game to face either Queens or UNC Pembroke on Tuesday night.
 
Lincoln Memorial earned its seventh straight trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday with a 90-78 victory over King, while the Lakers pulled away late to move to the round of 32 with a 75-69 win against Carson-Newman.
 
Schedule / Game Day Links:
 
Sunday, March 11 vs. Clayton State – 7:30 p.m.
Live Stats
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Tournament Central
 
Quick Hits:
 
- The No. 1 Railsplitters pushed their winning streak to 20 games and captured their 24th straight victory at Tex Turner Arena in last night's triumph over King. The Railsplitters also improved to 14-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament play with a combined 10-2 mark over the past three seasons. It marks the fourth winning streak of at least 20 games under head coach Josh Schertz.
 
- King, which lost by 34 to the Railsplitters back on November 11, didn't make it easy on the two-time defending region champions. The Tornado led for 13 minutes and shot 55 percent in the first half to lead by as many as nine points. The game was mostly nip and tuck aside from a seven-minute stretch of the second half in which the Railsplitters reeled off an 18-0 run to get the distance they needed to avoid the upset scare.
 
- Trevon Shaw and Emanuel Terry powered the victory with 45 combined points, including 25 of the team's 42 second-half points. Shaw scored 24, while Terry dropped 21 points and 15 rebounds. Cornelius Taylor (14), Dorian Pinson (12) and Josh Odem (11) also finished in double figures for the Railsplitters.
 
- The Railsplitters have now accumulated the second-most wins in program history behind only the 2015-16 team that finished as the national runners-up with a 34-3 overall record. A win on Sunday would give Lincoln Memorial the third-longest winning streak in program history behind the 2015-16 team (24) and the 2010-11 squad (22).
 
- Shaw is 11 three-pointers away from matching the South Atlantic Conference and program single-season record of 140 that Luquon Choice set last season. The senior is hitting 46 percent of his three-point tries this season.
 
- Lincoln Memorial is trying to win its third straight Southeast Region title. The Railsplitters have made back-to-back appearances in the national semifinals, including a trip to the national championship game in 2016.
 
- The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship got off to a volatile start yesterday. Two one-seeds went down in defending national champions Northwest Missouri State and Morehouse. Three different two-seeds also stumbled in the first round while perennial powerhouse West Liberty was crushed by Shippensburg by 32 points.
 
- With Northwest Missouri State's loss, there is no team left standing that has beaten Lincoln Memorial this season. The Railsplitters' lone loss came at the hands of the Bearcats on December 19.
 
Notes on Clayton State:
 
- Making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2008, the Lakers improved to 4-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament play with last night's win over Carson-Newman. Clayton State has won 15 of its last 16 games dating back to a 75-69 win at Georgia Southwestern on January 24. The only loss over that span was a 70-60 setback to UNC Pembroke in the Peach Belt Conference title game.
 
- Clayton State matched the program's Division II era wins record set by the 2006-07 squad with its win over Carson-Newman. A win on Sunday would give the Lakers a record-tying 25th win. The Lakers last won 25 games during the 1993-94 campaign while members of the NAIA.
 
- The Lakers are set to face the No. 1 ranked team in the nation for the first time in program history.
 
- Clayton State boasts a balanced offensive attack led by Jaylen Taylor's 12.7 points per game. Nathan Powell is putting up 11.8 points and handing out 4.2 assists per game, while Aubrey McRae is also contributing 11.8 points per game. Justin Tuckson is scoring 10.8 points per game. McRae (66) and Tuckson (65) have combined to hit 131 of the team's 198 three-pointers. Taylor leads the Lakers in rebounding with 8.1 per game.
 
- The Lakers shoot 45.4 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from three while scoring 81 points per game. They allow opponents to shoot 44.2 percent overall and 38.5 percent from three while scoring 73.9 per game.
 
- Clayton State is looking to advance to the Southeast Region title game for the second time in program history and the first time since the 2008 team beat USC Aiken and Lenoir-Rhyne on its way to the Sweet 16.
 
- Head coach Jimmy Link is in his third season at Clayton State. Link went 14-12 in his first season and 16-13 last season before leading the Lakers back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade.
 
- Former LMU assistant coach Lance Egnatz is an assistant for Clayton State. He served on the Railsplitters' staff from 2008-12, playing a role in the program's first-ever SAC title during the 2010-11 campaign.
 
Series History:
 
Sunday will serve as the first-ever meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Clayton State.