SALISBURY, N.C. – Closing out its regular season road schedule a perfect 12-0, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team did nothing but improve upon its remarkable 2019-20 run Saturday inside Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, North Carolina, by defeating host Catawba 105-85. The Railsplitters extended their record-breaking and nation-leading winning streak to 27 and improved to 27-1 on the season while moving to a perfect 20-0 in South Atlantic Conference play.
 
The host Indians, who are ranked fourth in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Region poll and are third in the 12-team SAC, drop to 18-8 and 13-7 in league play with the loss.
 
Reaching the century mark for the ninth time of 2019-20, LMU surpassed 90 points for the seventh-straight outing and scored over 50 points in each half.
 
"That was a really good win for us," head coach Josh Schertz said following the triumph. "To come on the road and win against a team like Catawba shows a lot of mental toughness and character. Obviously, the stretch from the 14-minute mark to the six-minute mark of the second half was key. Our defense was fantastic, and we were flying around on the glass which fueled our transition and got us significant separation."
 
"We had a lot of guys contribute," continued coach Schertz. "Cameron Henry and Devin (Whitfield) carried us offensively in the first half and I thought Courvoisier (McCauley) was sublime during that stretch where we broke the game open. The bench was really needed and they delivered. I thought Julius Brown, Alex Dahling and Kamaran Calhoun were all fantastic."
 
After trailing by as much as five in the first half, the SAC regular season champion Railsplitters used a 16-7 run late in the half to take nearly a 10-point lead into the break. Holding just a four-point advantage six-and-a-half minutes into the second half, sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley went on a 10-2 run by himself to spark a momentum-changing turn in the game as LMU pulled in front by 17 and led by 15 halfway through the second half.
 
With both teams hitting at least 10 three pointers and shooting 40 percent or better from outside, the Railsplitters went 54 percent (34-of-63) from the floor for the game and were 12-for-30 (40%) from distance and 25-for-29 (86.2%) at the free-throw line. Catawba shot 44 percent (33-of-75) for the 40 minutes and connected on 10 of its 24 three-point attempts (41.7%), finishing the day 12-of-17 (70.6%) at the foul line.
 
Four different LMU players reached double-figure scoring and the Railsplitters outscored the Indians 42-32 in the paint and posted 16 fastbreak points. Despite being outrebounded 41-38 and 13-5 on the offensive glass, LMU got 23 points off of 14 Catawba turnovers as the Indians scored only 11 points off of their second chances.
 
For the third-straight game, both McCauley and redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield turned in 20-point performances. Whitfield poured in 27 on 9-for-16 shooting and collected a pair of steals, going 6-for-7 at the charity stripe and adding four rebounds. McCauley went 11-for-17 from the field to reach 26 points and hit four of his eight three-point attempts, registering his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 10 rebounds. He also distributed a game-high five assists, made two blocks and had a steal.
 
A layup by the Indians' Malik Constantine gave the home team a five-point lead at 16-11 five-and-a-half minute in and Catawba would remain in front until sophomore point guard Julius Brown drilled a trey to break a 21-21 tie. A layin from Whitfield gave the Railsplitters a seven-point lead at 28-21 after nine minutes of on-court action.
 
After its advantage was trimmed to two at 36-34 with six minutes to go in the half, LMU outscored the Indians 16-9 for the remainder of the half to take a nine-point, 52-43 lead into the locker room.
 
Redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry scored all 16 of his points in the first half and Whitfield had 15 at the break as the Railsplitters shot 54.8 percent (17-of-31) across the opening 20 minutes and went 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from outside and 11-for-13 (84.6%) at the foul line.
 
Catawba connected on 45.5 percent (15-of-33) of its first-half shots and went 6-for-11 (54.5%) from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 (87.6) at the line.
 
A layup by McCauley two-and-a-half minutes into the second half put LMU in front 58-44 but the Indians then went on a 13-3 run over the following three minutes to get within four at 61-57. Leading 63-59 at the 13:46 mark, McCauley took over. The Indianapolis native rattled off 10-straight Railsplitter points, including a fastbreak dunk on a breakaway and a pair of treys. His 10-2 run giving LMU a 12-point, 73-61 lead with 12 minutes to go.
 
From there, the Railsplitters continued their onslaught and went on an 18-8 run over the ensuing three-and-a-half minutes of play. Another three pointer by McCauley put LMU ahead 91-69 with 8:37 showing on the game clock. Junior guard Alex Dahling splashed a three with six minutes remaining to give the Railsplitters their largest lead of the day at 25, 99-74.
 
Although outscored 14-6 in the closing minutes, LMU allowed just six made Catawba field goals in the final eight minutes.
 
McCauley scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half with Whitfield providing 12 as the Railsplitters shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) as a team and went 5-for-12 (41.7%) from long range and 14-for-16 (87.5%) at the charity stripe.
 
The hosts were limited to 42.9 percent (18-of-42) second-half shooting, which included a 30.8 percent (4-of-13) mark from three-point distance and hit just five of their nine foul shots (55.9%).
 
Julius Brown was the fourth member of the team to turn in a double-digit scoring performance, earning 12 points and being credited with an assist and a steal in 27 minutes off the bench. Henry went 4-for-6 from the floor and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line, adding four boards and making two blocks.
 
The Indians were paced by Marcell Haskett's 22 points as Terrence Whitfield recorded a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench. Constantine finished with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting in just 20 minutes of action, while Devin Cooper had 14 points and six boards.
 
Having scored 90 points or more in 19 games this season, the Railsplitters have reached 100 points in three of their last five contests.
 
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 return to B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena next week to close out the regular season. LMU takes on local Tusculum Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Anderson next Saturday at 4 p.m. for Senior Day. Wednesday's game is presented by Giles, while Senior Day is presented by Boone's BP.
 
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.