MARS HILL, N.C. – Achieving the preseason goal of winning the 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference regular season title for the eighth time in 10 years has not slowed down the Lincoln Memorial University basketball team in the least bit. The Railsplitters extended the nation's longest winning streak and added another victory to the program and SAC's record for most consecutive wins by blowing out Mars Hill 98-69 on the road Wednesday night inside Stanford Arena in North Carolina.
 
LMU won its 26th straight to remain perfect in league play (19-0) and in 2020 (14-0), outscoring the host Lions (11-14, 9-10) 33-16 in the final 11 minutes of the game getting 58 of its 98 points in the paint.
 
Holding a 50-36 margin on the glass, the Railsplitters earned their 18th 20-point triumph of the season and rolled to their 12th win away from home. Never trailing, LMU's stifling defense kept Mars Hill to 30.3 percent shooting for the night and only 20 made field goals as the Blue and Gray endured a cold shooting night from long range by sinking 29 two-point baskets and knocking down 16-of-21 free throws.
 
With four different double-digit scorers, the Railsplitters got an impressive 16 points and season-high nine rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench from Kamaran Calhoun. The redshirt senior guard/forward also had a block, steal and assist while shooting 7-for-9 from the floor. Scoring 27 fastbreak points and 17 second-chance points off of nine offensive boards, LMU had two 20-point performers in sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley and redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield.
 
McCauley, a national player of the year candidate, and Whitfield both notched their 15th 20-point outings of 2019-20 by pouring in 25 and 22 points, respectively, while redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry registered his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Henry also had four assists and a pair of steals.
 
Despite going 1-for-8 from the field, senior point guard Anthony Brown found a way to impact the game in other areas with seven boards, a game-high five assists and two steals.
 
"I thought tonight was a really good team win," head coach Josh Schertz said following the road triumph. "It's always good to find a way to win when you have a poor shooting night and we were able to do that on the back of our defense and rebounding, which is a great formula for us. To hold a team as explosive as Mars Hill to 69 points is a credit to our guys and how hard they competed defensively."
 
"We had a number of guys play well as Courvoisier (McCauley) and Devin (Whitfield) did a great job attacking the rim while Cameron Henry made a number of timely threes," coach Schertz continued. "That being said, I thought Kamaran Calhoun was the best player on the floor. In a physically tough game like that he always thrives, and he managed to impact the game massively in both halves."
 
A Calhoun layup three-and-a-half minutes in broke a 2-2 tie and the Railsplitters led for the remainder of the night. After seven minutes of on-court action, Whitfield drove in the lane for a layin to give LMU an eight-point advantage at 14-6.
 
After the hosts got within two at 18-16, the Railsplitters went on an 8-0 run to build their first double-digit lead of the game at 26-16 with 6:40 to go before the break. Minutes later, Whitfield had a fastbreak dunk to cap a 12-3 run and give LMU a commanding 17-point, 43-26 lead with just under two minutes left in the half.
 
Another Calhoun layup right before the halftime buzzer sent the Railsplitters into the locker room up 47-32 after shooting 47.2 percent in the first 20 minutes of play and going 9-for-11 (81.8%) at the free-throw line.
 
McCauley hit a layup after 6:40 of second-half action to push LMU out in front by 20 for the first time of the night at 63-43. However, the Lions would go on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes and 41 seconds of play go pull within 10 at 65-55 with just under 10 minutes to go. From there, the Railsplitters held Mars Hill to just 14 points and one made field goal for the rest of the game.
 
A fastbreak bucket by McCauley capped a game-securing 20-4 run and put LMU ahead by 26 with less than four minutes left. Redshirt freshman guard MJ Armstrong made a steal and flushed a dunk in the final minute to give the visitors a 30-point advantage at 98-68 before the Lions got one last free throw in the closing seconds.
 
Javonte Cooke led the way for Mars Hill, scoring 22 on 5-for-9 three-point shooting in 33 minutes off the bench. The Lions also got 16 points from Ja'Shawn Brooks and 11 rebounds and eight points from Jamal Bryant.  

LMU has won eight SAC regular season titles since 2010-11 and 12 conference championships, including four SAC Tournament crowns, in 10 seasons. One of only four NCAA Division II basketball programs to have posted 20 wins or more for 11-straight seasons, the Railsplitters have reached the 25-win mark in nine of the last 10 years.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters remain on the road over the weekend, traveling to Salisbury, North Carolina, Saturday to take on Catawba in a 4 p.m. tip-off from inside Goodman Gymnasium. Next week, LMU closes out the regular season at home with Tusculum Wednesday, Feb. 26 and Anderson next Saturday, Feb. 29.  
 
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.