EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Playing in its third NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship semifinal in program history, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team saw its historic quest for a national title come to an end in the worst way Thursday night inside the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. Top-seeded and fifth-ranked West Texas A&M guard Zach Toussaint rattled in a top-of-the-key three pointer as time expired to hand the fourth-seeded Railsplitters their first non-conference loss since Nov. 1, 2019.
 
The Buffaloes' buzzer beater came following a missed driving layup and a batted around rebound that fell in the hands of Toussaint. Redshirt junior guard Cameron Henry blocked West Texas A&M All-American guard Joel Murray's layup with just over six seconds remaining and 0.9 seconds were added to the clock after an official review. With the Buffs retaining possession due to the ball going off of Henry's foot, West Texas A&M All-American guard Qua Grant was well defended by junior point guard Julius Brown who forced the missed layup. However, the ball somehow found the hands of the Buffs' best three-point shooter with just enough time for him to launch the game-winning three.
 
Toussaint's buzzer beater was his first made basket of the game as he was 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-4 from distance prior to his weighty make.
 
Shooting a remarkable 61.5 percent (32-of-52) for the game, LMU shot over 60 percent in each half and held West Texas A&M (19-2) to 42.3 percent (30-of-71) from the floor and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from beyond the arc. The Railsplitters limited one of the most elite offensive teams in the nation to 36.4 percent (12-of-33) first-half shooting and only one made three pointer (1-for-11) in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Buffs used a strong second half behind 47.4 percent (18-of-38) shooting, including 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from outside, to outscore LMU 52-42. Despite the Railsplitters owning a plus-eight margin on the boards (37-29), LMU could not keep West Texas A&M off the offensive glass. The Buffs turned 10 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points and were relentless on defense in the closing 20 minutes.
 
Of West Texas A&M's 22 points off of 16 Railsplitter turnovers, 18 came on 10 LMU turnovers in the second half. Outscoring LMU 18-3 in fastbreak points, the Buffs turned the ball over just four times the entire night and had only one second-half miscue. A little over 24 hours after making nine steals in the victory over fifth-seeded Colorado School of Mines, the Railsplitters had only one steal in 40 minutes against West Texas A&M.
 
LMU scored 50 of its 86 points in the paint and assisted on 20 of the Railsplitters' 32 made field goals with five double-figure scorers led by junior forward Jordan Guest's second-straight double-double.
 
A three pointer by Guest three-and-a-half minutes in gave LMU its first lead of the game at 5-4 and the Railsplitters led 9-7 at the first media timeout after a Guest dunk and a layin from redshirt senior guard Devin Whitfield. A 6-0 LMU run capped with a driving layup from Henry put the Blue and Gray up 15-7 six minutes in and another Guest triple extended the Railsplitters' advantage to nine at 18-9.
 
Sophomore point guard Jeremiah Keene got a layup off a baseline backdoor cut to give LMU a 24-16 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half before a steal and a fastbreak put the Railsplitters up 27-19. A post move by Henry secured LMU's first 10-point lead of the night at 31-21 and a shifty Keene drive made it a 12-point game at 35-23 with five-and-a-half minutes to go before the break.
 
Guest knocked down a pair of free throws with just over four minutes left in the half to cap a 15-5 Railsplitter run that pushed LMU's lead out to 15 at 39-24. After a strong take by redshirt sophomore guard/forward Xavier Bledson, which put the Railsplitters up by 16 at 42-26 with just under three minutes in the half, West Texas A&M went on a 9-2 run to get within nine at halftime.
 
Heading into the locker room leading 44-35, LMU shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) in the first half and went 12-for-15 (80 percent) at the free-throw line.
 
The Buffs scored seven of the first nine points of the second half to climb back within four at 46-42. However, treys by Guest and Whitfield combined with a conventional three-point play from Whitfield put the Railsplitters in front 55-45 after just over four minutes of second-half action.
 
The two teams would exchange blows across the ensuing five minutes of play but LMU was able to maintain its edge. Guard Alex Dahling began to showcase his senior leadership when he connected on a three pointer to keep the Railsplitters ahead by 10 at 62-52 with 13:17 showing on the clock.
 
A 15-6 West Texas A&M run over a four-and-a-half minute stretch made it a one-point affair at 68-67 with 8:49 remaining. From there on things would be become increasingly entertaining. Guest knocked down a jumper to keep the Buffs at bay at 70-67 before Dahling took over. Scoring 11-straight LMU points, Dahling drained his second triple to put the Railsplitters in front by six at 73-67 with just under eight minutes left. He would hit two free throws and score on a trio of layups but with West Texas A&M heating up and scoring on seemingly every possession, Dahling's final layin at the 3:19 mark gave LMU only a two-point lead at 81-79 after the first tie of the game since early in the first half.
 
Whitfield converted a layup following a Buffalo foul on a rebound to give the Railsplitters a little cushion at 83-80 with two-and-a-half minutes left, and neither team would score for the following 90 seconds. A Henry layup with under a minute to go extended LMU's lead to 85-80 but mere seconds later West Texas A&M connected on a fastbreak three to make it a one possession game with 47 seconds showing. A Railsplitter turnover and a foul led to the Buffs' Murray going 1-for-2 at the line to close the gap to 85-84. LMU successfully got the ball across the timeline and in the hands of Guest, who went 1-for-2 on his free throws to give West Texas A&M a chance with 13 seconds.
 
Two timeouts by the Buffs after Henry's block and subsequential monitor review set up the game-ending sequence.
 
The Railsplitters shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the second half but were 4-for-10 from long range.
 
Guest finished with his sixth double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 20 points, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds and dishing out a career-high five assists. Brown scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting and pulled down a career-high tying five rebounds while Dahling added 14 points. Whitfield went 5-for-7 from the field for 12 points and Bledson totaled 11 points and five rebounds off the bench. Henry recorded nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
West Texas A&M had four players reach double figures led by Grant's 25 points and six rebounds. Murray scored 24 points for the Buffs as Hayden Blankley tallied 15 points and six rebounds off the bench and Jon'il Fugett notched 14 points.
 
The loss brings another banner year for LMU men's basketball to a close with the Railsplitters finishing 19-4. The national semifinal tilt was LMU's third trip to the Final Four in the last five Division II Elite Eight championships as the Railsplitters made their third Elite Eight appearance in six seasons.
 
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