HARROGATE, Tenn. – Now holding the second-longest winning streak in school and South Atlantic Conference history, the red-hot Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team continued its victorious ways Saturday inside B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena Saturday. The Railsplitters (23-1, 16-0), now winners of 23 straight, reached the century mark for the seventh time of 2019-20 and completed the regular season sweep of Wingate with a 24-point, 104-80 home triumph.
 
Remaining unblemished in league play, at home and in 2020, LMU earned its 16th 20-point win of the season by shooting lights out in the second half and knocking down 17 threes.
 
Holding a nearly 20-rebound advantage on the glass (45-27), the Railsplitters shot an impressive 65.4 percent (17-of-26) in the second half and racked up 60 points after going 10-for-17 (58.8%) from distance. Limiting the visiting Bulldogs (10-12, 6-10) to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) shooting, including 35.5 percent (11-of-31) in the second half, LMU scored 16 fastbreak points and added 28 points in the paint en route to its 16th consecutive conference victory.
 
A trio of Railsplitters reached 20 points with redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield notching his second 30-point outing against Wingate in 2019-20. Playing all 40 minutes, the 6-foot-5 swingman went 7-for-11 from the field, 5-for-8 from deep and 11-for-17 at the free-throw line, while sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley posted 28 points and nine rebounds on 9-for-15 shooting. The Indianapolis native connected on seven of his 12 three-point attempts as senior point guard Anthony Brown seemed to be unstoppable. The 6-foot-1 floor general distributed a game-high six assists and pulled down six rebounds, not to mention scoring 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting and making all seven of his foul shots.
 
In a game which featured 62 combined free throws, Wingate jumped out to a 5-0 lead a little over a minute-and-a-half in before a McCauley three got LMU's offense rolling. Trailing 9-7 after 3:30 of play, the Railsplitters went on a 13-2 run over the following four-and-a-half minutes to pull in front by nine at 20-11 on a traditional three-point play from Anthony Brown.

After the Bulldogs pulled within four at 20-16, LMU stretched its lead out to 12 with a fastbreak trey from Whitfield capping a 10-2 run and making it 30-18 at the 8:12 mark of the half. The two teams would combine for just one basket over the next two minutes of action before another Whitfield three gave the Railsplitters a 12-point lead once again at 35-23.
 
A three pointer by Wingate's Kendrick Tucker got the visitors within six at 37-31 with just over two minutes to go before the break but LMU would take an eight-point 44-36 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Railsplitters shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the floor in the first half and went 7-for-19 (36.8%) from outside as the Bulldogs' were 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from the field and 6-of-14 (42.9%) from long range.
 
A three pointer by redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry just over a minute into the second half put LMU ahead by 13 at 50-37 and three-straight Whitfield foul shots increased the Railsplitters' advantage to 15. McCauley would drain a three to keep LMU in front by 15 before Wingate's Jarren Cottingham capped a 10-3 Bulldog run, getting the visitors back within eight at 59-51. A jumper by Wingate's Kendrick Tucker kept the Bulldogs within eight at 61-53 just over five minutes into the second half before a pair of Anthony Brown free throws pushed the Railsplitters out in front by 13 at 66-53.
 
LMU would hold a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game, taking a 16-point, 76-60 lead on a McCauley trey with 11:28 to go. Another pair of Anthony Brown foul shots gave the Railsplitters a 17-point lead at 83-66 with just over eight minutes left.
 
A McCauley free throw with just under five minutes remaining gave LMU its first 20-point advantage of the day, putting the Railsplitters up 91-71. A three pointer by sophomore guard Julius Brown followed by another basket from Anthony Brown got LMU past the century mark before McCauley closed out the contest with a corner three.
 
Despite early foul trouble, Henry scored six points, brought down seven rebounds and distributed a pair of assists in only 13 minutes of action. Julius Brown finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes off the bench.
 
Cottingham finished with a team-high 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting for Wingate, while Tucker poured in 22 and Francis Sio had 17 points and a team-best four assists. The Bulldogs' Miguel Priest claimed a game-high tying nine boards.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters return to game action this Wednesday, Feb. 12, traveling to nearby Wise, Virginia, to take on first-year SAC member UVA Wise in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Next Saturday, Feb. 15, LMU hosts Newberry at 4 p.m.
 
On Social
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.