GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Through the halfway point of the 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference schedule, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team is undefeated after earning a physical 96-81 road victory Wednesday night at Tusculum University. The Railsplitters (18-1, 11-0) extended their nation-leading winning streak to 18 and won their seventh consecutive contest away from home behind one of the finest shooting performances in program history.
 
LMU shot 66 percent (35-of-53) from the field for the 40 minutes of action inside Pioneer Arena, the fifth-best shooting outing in Railsplitter history. Connecting on 13 of its 21 three-point attempts (61.9%), LMU shot a remarkable 74.1 percent (20-of-27) in the second half and knocked down six of its nine second-half three pointers. It was the Railsplitters' best shooting game since setting the program's single-game field goal percentage record at 73.4 percent in LMU's 87-point blowout of Mars Hill in December of 2017.
 
Entering the night as one of the best rebounding teams in all of NCAA Division II basketball, the Pioneers (11-8, 6-5) owned the glass by a plus-16 margin (38-22) and showed why they are the top offensive rebounding team. Tusculum earned 20 of its 81 points on second chances, totaling 18 offensive boards compared to the Railsplitters' two.
 
However, LMU controlled the paint, outscoring the Pioneers 42-24 and getting 20 points off of 13 Tusculum turnovers. The Railsplitters made eight steals and held a 24-6 advantage on fastbreak points while holding the Pioneers to 41 percent (25-of-61) shooting, including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from outside.
 
All five LMU starters reached double figures and the Railsplitters led for all but 1:26 of the game, committing just 10 turnovers and assisting on 20 of their 35 made field goals.
 
Led by 24 and 25-point nights from sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley and redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield, respectively, LMU got another stellar performance from redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry. Scoring 19 and going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, the 6-foot-6 swingman hauled in a team-high nine rebounds and handed out five assists, while senior point guard Anthony Brown was sensational with 14 points and a game-best eight assists.
 
Redshirt senior forward Rhondi Hackett made several impressive moves down low and finished with his second consecutive double-figure scoring game as he notched 10 points and collected three blocks.
 
McCauley went 10-for-13 from the field, hitting 3-for-5 from long range and going 7-for-8 inside the arc, in addition to providing five assists and a career-high four steals. Whitfield was 8-for-13 from the floor, connected on five treys and made all four of his free throws.
 
After Tusculum made the opening basket of the night, the Railsplitters scored eight-straight points to take an 8-2 lead on a Henry three. From there, two points would be the closest the Pioneers would get for the remainder of the contest. LMU extended its advantage out to seven several times, including a McCauley three giving the visitors a 13-6 lead just over five minutes in. Tusculum got within two at the eight-minute mark of the half, outscoring the Railsplitters 8-3 across a 3:45 span to make it 21-19.
 
Over the next four minutes of play, LMU outscored the Pioneers 11-4 to pull in front by nine at 32-23 with another Henry trey. A rare four-point play gave the Railsplitters their first 10-point lead of the game when Whitfield took a contested corner three and drained it as he was fouled. His free throw put LMU up 36-26 with three minutes to go before the break. The Railsplitters closed out the final 2:49 of the half on a 9-2 run sparked by a McCauley three pointer.
 
A pair of made free throws by both redshirt senior guard/forward Kamaran Calhoun and Whitfield built LMU's lead to 45-30 at the half.
 
The Railsplitters shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) in the opening 20 minutes and were 7-of-12 (58.3%) from distance while holding Tusculum to only nine first-half field goals (9-of-29, 31%) and 25 percent (2-of-8) from three-point land. The Pioneers went 10-for-12 (83.3%) at the foul line in the first half.
 
Within the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half, LMU pushed its lead out to the largest of the night. A 10-0 run over a two-minute stretch of play quickly surged the Railsplitters to a 24-point lead at 62-38, thanks to a pair of Whitfield threes and Hackett layups. Another Whitfield three pointer gave LMU its second 24-point lead of the game following seven minutes of second-half action.
 
McCauley would get a wide-open layup after making a steal to keep the Railsplitters in front by 23 at 73-50 with just under 11 minutes to go. However, Tusculum went on a lengthy 14-5 run over the ensuing four minutes of play to get within 14 at 78-64. Both teams were scoreless for 1:25 of action before a sunk Pioneer jumper got the home team within 12 with a little less than five-and-a-half minutes to go. An old-fashioned three-point play from Henry stopped Tusculum's momentum and put LMU ahead 81-66 with just over four minutes remaining.
 
The Pioneers responded with a deep ball to make it a 12-point game once again but a Henry layup, defensive stop and two free throws from Anthony Brown all but sealed the game. An Anthony Brown trey moments later with 2:41 showing on the clock proved to be the dagger, despite the Railsplitters being outscored 10-6 in the final 90 seconds.
 
Tusculum and LMU each scored 51 points in the second half with the Pioneers shooting 50 percent (16-of-32) from the floor, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from downtown and 87.5 percent (14-of-16) at the free-throw line to finish 24-of-28 (85.7%) at the charity stripe for the night.
 
Forward Brandon Mitchell led Tusculum with a double-double of 16 points and game-high 10 rebounds, while guard Tariq Jenkins scored a team-best 17 and guard Trenton Gibson also 16. The Pioneers got 10 points off the bench from Keaston Brown.

Up Next…
The Railsplitters return to the comforts of Tex Turner Arena Saturday for a 4 p.m. matchup with Coker before welcoming rival Carson-Newman to Harrogate next Wednesday, Jan. 29. Saturday's men's and women's doubleheader with the visiting Cobras is sponsored by The Olde Mill Inn Bed and Breakfast.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter basketball throughout the 2019-20 season.