JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman senior guard Mason Bates went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line over the final four minutes to lead the Eagles to a stunning 79-75 win over the Railsplitters on Wednesday night inside of Holt Fieldhouse. 
 
Despite going the final five minutes without a basket, finishing 0-for-5 down the stretch and trailing outright for nearly 35 minutes, Carson-Newman (11-9, 4-8 SAC) was able to overcome an eight-point, second-half deficit to snap a five-game losing streak against Lincoln Memorial (14-5, 9-3 SAC), which saw its four-game winning streak halted as well in the loss. 
 
The Railsplitters were ultimately undone by one of their worst shooting performances of the season. Lincoln Memorial shot just 38.8 percent, which stands as the fourth-lowest mark of the season and lowest since a 28-point loss at Queens on December 8. The Railsplitters' offensive funk reached critical mass in the closing minutes, as they went nearly the final 3:30 without a point and finished one for their last eight from the field. 
 
Carson-Newman wasn't much better at 40 percent shooting, but the Eagles buried 14 three-pointers, including nine in the second half alone. That long-range effort was bolstered by a string of four straight threes that gave the Eagles a late cushion. 
 
Carson-Newman, which rallied from a five-point halftime deficit, grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the second half that led directly to 12 second-chance points. 

"I think there are two things you take from tonight," said LMU head coach Josh Schertz. "First off, you have to credit Carson-Newman on how hard and well they played. They manhandled us physically and made big shots.
 
"As for us, it's the same old Achilles heels of lack of toughness and poise coming back to bite us. It's impossible to beat a good team, particularly on the road, when you're lacking those two things."

Cornelius Taylor paced the Railsplitters with 18 points, though he finished 7-for-22 from the floor and 3-for-12 from three. The redshirt-junior scored 12 points in the second half while adding five rebounds and four assists. Alex Dahling went 4-for-7 from three to score 14 points, and was the only LMU player to score in the final four minutes of regulation. Rhondi Hackett was the only other Railsplitter in double figures with 12 points. 
 
Kamaran Calhoun, who had led the Railsplitters in scoring in the previous four games, was limited to just two points, though he did lead the team with 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks. 
 
Bates led Carson-Newman with a game-high 22 points and scored the final 10 points of the game for the Eagles with a perfect 10-for-10 effort at the charity stripe. Chris Clayton was the only other Carson-Newman player in double figures with 13 points, while Grant Teichmann and Blake Ervin had nine apiece. 
 
In the 209th all-time meeting between the two longtime rivals, the game was a back-and-forth affair throughout, but it turned absolutely bonkers in the final eight minutes. 
 
After a running jumper from Taylor gave the Railsplitters a comfortable seven-point cushion at 61-54, Bates and Nick Rogers hit back-to-back threes to kick-start a flurry that saw the Eagles go 5-for-6 from deep. Rogers hit the final three during that stretch with 4:59 left on the clock to give C-N their largest lead of the game at 69-65. 
 
With the Eagles maintaining a four-point edge, Courvoisier McCauley connected on a three before Dahling drained a pair of free throws to push the Railsplitters back in front 72-71 with 3:38 left. 
 
The two offenses completely disappeared after that as Carson-Newman missed its final five shots, while the Railsplitters wouldn't score again for over three minutes. 
 
Unfortunately for Lincoln Memorial, Bates and the Eagles stayed in attack mode despite going ice cold from the field and earned four trips to the charity stripe during that closing stretch. And Bates made good on all eight of those attempts, giving the Eagles the lead for good with 1:04 left before closing it out with eight seconds remaining. 
 
Dahling ended the Railsplitters' three-minute scoring drought with a corner three with 11 seconds left, but that wasn't enough to overcome the Eagles' clutch free-throw shooting.  
 
The first half was defined by its runs as Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman each had two runs of 7-0 or more through the first 20 minutes. 
 
Both teams started ice cold with the Railsplitters missing seven of their first 10 shots, while the Eagles came up empty on eight of their first nine. 
 
A three-pointer from Hackett followed by a steal and fast-break dunk for Cameron Henry gave Lincoln Memorial the slight edge at the under-16 media timeout, while back-to-back threes from McCauley and Taylor concluded an 11-0 run that pushed the Railsplitters out to a 13-3 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the half. 
 
But the Railsplitters went cold again after that, missing six straight shots during a 3:20 scoring drought that saw the Eagles cut the deficit to 13-10 by the 11:35 mark. 
 
Hackett snapped Carson-Newman's 7-0 run and made it a two-possession game with a thunderous dunk, but the Eagles pulled within a point twice over the ensuing passage of play. 
 
However, the Railsplitters would not concede the lead as threes from Henry and Dahling kept the visitors in front, while a 7-0 flurry capped by a Julius Brown three extended the lead to 28-19 with 4:31 left in the half. 
 
Just like before, though, the Eagles answered with another 7-0 run, this one powered by a three and fast-break flush from Malik Abraham that closed the gap to 28-26 with 2:26 on the clock. 
 
LMU was again able to keep C-N at bay, as Xavier Bledson finished off a three-point play and scored on a fast-break to catapult the Railsplitters back to a six-point lead. 
 
Teichmann hit one of two free throws to conclude the scoring in the first half as the Railsplitters took a 34-29 lead into the break. 
 
The first half wasn't pretty for either side as the Railsplitters went 13-for-36 for a 36 percent clip compared to a 10-for-27 mark (37 percent) for the Eagles.
 
The back-and-forth trend continued in the second half, as a couple of quick buckets by Parker Role' and Bates followed by triples from Teichmann and Abraham gave the Eagles their second lead of the game at 39-38 with 16 minutes left in regulation. 
 
Again, the Railsplitters responded with a 7-0 run capped by a three from Taylor to reclaim a 45-39 advantage just 1:39 later. Another basket from Taylor at the 12-minute mark threatened to push the game in Lincoln Memorial's favor once and for all with the lead extended to 50-42. But the Eagles refused to go away, as threes from Teichmann and Ervin brought it back to a one-possession game to set the stage for the dramatic finish. 
 
Lincoln Memorial will try to rebound on Saturday when the No. 9 Queens Royals head to Harrogate for a rematch of the last two Southeast Regional championship games. The Royals saw their 14-game winning streak ended by Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday.
 
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Tex Turner Arena.