GREENVILLE, S.C. – Overcoming an 11-point first-half deficit the top-seeded Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team found a way to pull out a gritty, 75-68 victory against second-seeded and 25th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte for the 2020 South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Men's Basketball Tournament title Sunday afternoon in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
The second-ranked Railsplitters, despite being outrebounded by 15 (45-30), showed poise, determination and perseverance to claim their record-setting 32nd-straight win and further the longest winning streak among all levels of college hoops.
 
The 2020 SAC Tournament title is LMU's fifth in eight tries as the Railsplitters capture their fifth league tournament crown and 13th overall SAC championship in 10 years since the 2010-11 season. With the triumph, LMU improves to a remarkable 32-1 on the season while the Royals drop fall to 24-7.
 
Improving to an unblemished 20-0 in 2020, the Railsplitters forced 22 Queens turnovers and made a near season-high 13 steals for yet another outstanding defensive performance. Snapping the Royals' 10-game win streak and halting Queens' up-tempo offense, LMU held its SAC foe to just 34.9 percent (22-of-63) shooting from the floor and 8-for-24 (33.3%) from downtown.
 
The Railsplitters scored an overwhelming 31 points off of the Royals' miscues.
 
Behind 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-8 marksmanship from beyond the arc, by redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield and 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting and nine rebounds from sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley, LMU was able to withstand 14 turnovers of their own. The regular season champions scored 36 points in the paint, led in fastbreak points 20-6 and built a 10-point lead in the second half after trailing by one at the break.
 
Busting out of the gates, the Railsplitters raced out to a 7-0 lead after a little over three minutes of action and held Queens without a basket for the first 4:08 of play. However, a lengthy 18-5 run over a six-minute period gave the Royals a commanding 11-point lead at 28-17 with 6:44 to go in the half.
 
Capped by a McCauley layup following a steal by senior point guard Anthony Brown and a driving, euro-step layin from Whitfield after a steal by junior guard Alex Dahling, LMU outscored Queens 17-7 in the final six-and-a-half minutes of the first half. With their run to close the half, the Railsplitters headed to the locker trailing only by one at 35-34.
 
Whitfield scored 15 of his 25 points in the opening half as LMU shot just 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from the field and 5-for-18 (27.8%) from long range in the first 20 minutes of action. The Royals shot 44.8 percent (13-of-29) in the first half, going 5-for-15 (33.3%) from outside and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.
 
A sluggish offensive start by both teams in the second half yielded a 38-36 lead for Queens four minutes in following a three pointer by All-SAC First Team pick Daniel Carr. Another trey by the Royals put the 2017 SAC Tournament champions up by five at 41-36.
 
Trailing 44-40, the Railsplitters embarked on a 20-6 game-changing run sparked by a fastbreak three from McCauley. A three pointer from Whitfield put LMU up 50-46 halfway through the second stanza before the Railsplitters went on a speedy 8-0 run to take a 60-50 lead. Another McCauley trey, an old-fashioned three-point play by Whitfield and a McCauley layup all within an 80-second span gave LMU its largest lead of the day with 7:41 remaining.
 
Queens quickly made it a one-possession game once again with an 8-0 run of its own over the ensuing two minutes of play. The two teams would remain within two possessions of each other down the stretch as four-straight free throws by McCauley and sophomore guard Julius Brown put the Railsplitters in front by six at 66-60 with three minutes to go.
 
A jumper in the paint from the Royals' Gavin Rains made it a one-point affair at 66-65 with 2:27 showing on the clock but a three-point play by redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry put LMU up 69-65 with 90 second left. Queens responded once again, getting a converted and-one opportunity from Rains to get back within one at 69-68 with just over a minute to go.
 
McCauley made a driving layup with 56 seconds left and Henry hit an important free throw under 30 seconds to make it a two-possession game at 72-68. Following a miss on his second foul shot attempt, Henry grabbed his own rebound and preceded to hit both of his following free throws. The Royals missed a pair of threes in the closing seconds and Henry knocked down another free throw to seal the championship at 75-68.
 
All told, the Railsplitters shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) after hitting 50 percent (13-of-26) of their second-half shots but were 8-for-28 (28.6%) from distance and 15-for-21 (71.4%) at the charity stripe.
 
Henry had another stat-stuffing outing, finishing with a near triple-double of 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, not to mention a career-high tying five assists.
 
For his efforts, Whitfield was tabbed SAC Tournament MVP and landed a spot on the SAC All-Tournament Team while McCauley was also named to the league's all-tournament team. Whitfield becomes the fourth Railsplitter to be selected as SAC Tournament MVP, joining Dorian Pinson (2018), Luquon Choice (2016) and D'Mario Curry (2011).
 
Up Next…
The Railsplitters await the 2020 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship selection show, which takes place Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. ET.  The selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com. The 2020 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship bracket can be found here, with a printable bracket located here.
 
LMU is ranked No. 1 in the final regular season NCAA Division II Southeast Region poll. The top team in the region gains hosting responsibilities for the eight-team NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship, held Saturday-Tuesday, March 14-17.
 
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.