GREENVILLE, S.C. – Holding its opponent to the lowest point total of the season, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team continued its winning ways and punched its ticket to the 2020 South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Men's Basketball Tournament title game with a 67-46 rout of fourth-seeded Tusculum Saturday evening inside Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
Behind a strong defensive game and timely shooting, the Railsplitters won their 31st consecutive to extend the longest winning streak among all levels of collegiate basketball and continue to set a program and league record. Improving to 31-1 on the season, LMU ended the Pioneers campaign at 19-13.
 
The Railsplitters will now compete for the 2020 SAC Tournament crown Sunday, seeking their fifth conference tournament championship since 2011. Making its eighth title game appearance in 10 years, LMU has gone 4-3 in SAC Tournament championship contests, winning the league tournament crown in 2011, 2014, 2016 and most recently in 2018. The Railsplitters' full SAC Tournament championship game results can be found below.
 
2010-11 | LMU 68, Wingate 58
2012-13 | Wingate 69, LMU 53
2013-14 | LMU 76, Anderson 71
2014-15 | Carson-Newman 63, LMU 48
2015-16 | LMU 95, Wingate 83
2016-17 | Queens 75, LMU 72
2017-18 | LMU 77, Queens 75
 
LMU will face second-seeded and 25th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte in the championship game Sunday with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. from inside Timmons Arena. It marks the third time in the last four years the two teams have battled for the SAC Tournament and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. The title game is part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase, an online broadcast through the NCAA Division II Showcase Hybrid Model and the SAC Live Digital Network.
 
The Royals (24-6) defeated third-seeded Catawba 104-95 Saturday night in the other SAC Tournament semifinal matchup.
 
Picking up their 21st 20-point win of 2019-20, the Railsplitters improved to 19-0 this calendar year.
 
Behind another dominant performance on the glass, where LMU held an eight-rebound (43-35) advantage, the Railsplitters scored 32 points in the paint and led by as much as 25 in the second half. Overcoming uncharacteristically cool shooting and 15 turnovers, LMU held Tusculum to just 32.2 percent (19-for-59) shooting from the floor, seven free throw attempts and five made threes.
 
The Pioneers, who lead the nation in offensive rebounding, were limited to only nine offensive boards as the Railsplitters shot 43.9 percent (25-for-57) from the field, were 7-for-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc and 10-for-15 (66.7%) at the foul line.

After a sloppy and sluggish opening 15 minutes of action, LMU went on a commanding 14-2 run over the final five minutes of the first half to take control of the game. Neither team could find an offensive rhythm and the Railsplitters were plagued by early turnovers, resulting in a slim one-point, 18-17 lead for LMU following 15 minutes of play.
 
Senior point guard Anthony Brown hit a layup to spark the Railsplitters' game-changing run with four-and-a-half minutes to go in the half and LMU held Tusculum to only one field goal for the remainder of the period. Layups by redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield and redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry in the closing minute of the half gave the Railsplitters a 13-point, 32-19 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Keeping the Pioneers to a 33 percent (9-for-27) shooting performance in the first half, including Tusculum going 0-for-4 from deep and 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, LMU shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27) in the first 20 minutes of action, was 40 percent (4-of-10) from distance and 4-for-8 at the charity stripe.
 
Picking up where they left off, the Railsplitters continued their momentum in the second half going on a 10-0 run during a 3:30 span of play early to build 23-point lead at 47-24 just six minutes in. A three pointer by Tusculum's Tariq Jenkins got the Pioneers back within 18 at the 10:52 mark, but a calm 10-3 LMU run gave the Railsplitters their largest lead of the evening. Another layin from Anthony Brown put LMU up by 25 at 59-34 with just six-and-a-half minutes to go. From there, Tusculum cut the advantage down under 20 just three times as the Railsplitters closed the game out with more stellar rebounding and defense.
 
Not allowing the Pioneers to score for nearly the final two minutes of the contest, Whitfield countered a Tusculum layup with a jumper at the 1:46 mark and neither team scored the rest of the way.
 
With just as fine of a defensive performance as in the first half, LMU limited the Pioneers to 31.3 percent (10-for-32) second-half shooting. Tusculum was able to hit five of its 11 second-half three-point attempts (40%), but the Railsplitters went 13-for-30 (43.3%) overall from the field in the second 20 minutes of play and were 6-for-7 (85.7%) on free throws.

Whitfield led the way for LMU with 18 points and four rebounds, while sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley had a near double-double with 14 points and game-high nine rebounds. Anthony Brown finished with 11 points and game-best four assists and Henry provided eight points, seven boards and a trio of assists.
 
The Pioneers were led by Jenkins' 13 points and seven rebounds as Dillon Smith scored nine and pulled down four boards.
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters take on second-seeded and 25th-ranked Queens Sunday for the 2020 SAC Pilot Flying J Tournament and the league's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Greenville with the game streamed live on the SAC Live Digital Network, on the Division II, SAC and LMU Athletics' Facebook pages, on the Division II Twitter page at @NCAADII and through the Periscope app at @NCAADII.
 
Taylor Family Chiropractic is the official sponsor of LMU's 2020 postseason.
 
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 2020 postseason.