EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team suffered a season-ending 88-70 loss to Cal State San Bernardino in the Elite Eight on Tuesday night at the Ford Center.
 
The Railsplitters finish the 2022-23 season with a 30-5 record after the defeat at the hands of the Coyotes (31-3), who led by double figures for the balance of the second half.
 
Lincoln Memorial led 22-18 with 8:00 remaining in the first half thanks to hot shooting from Me'Kell Burries and Matthew Sells, who each had nine points in the first 12 minutes of the game. Sells soon picked up his third foul, and Jordan Walters missed a stretch with a gash over his eye, allowing the Coyotes to control the final moments of the opening period and take a 40-31 advantage into the break.

The Coyotes dominated inside, as the Railsplitters were playing without the services of an injured Quay Kennedy, missing the graduate guard's scoring and defense. Lincoln Memorial was outrebounded 50-35 and outscored 48-28 on points in the paint. The Railsplitters were held to an uncharacteristic 34.3 percent shooting from the field and 22.9 percent on 3-pointers by a pesky Coyote defense.
 
Burries and Sells both finished with 16 points, while Walters added 13 points as the three Railsplitters in double digits. Martez Brown had four points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Chase Rankin went for six points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
 
Darius Mickens (22 points, six rebounds and three steals) and Mahmoud Fofana (18 points and 14 rebounds) made it difficult for the Railsplitters to make a comeback run.
 
Cal State San Bernardino was the No. 4 seed and Lincoln Memorial the No. 5 seed in the reshuffled bracket for the Elite Eight after the Railsplitters defeated USC Aiken last Tuesday night in Augusta, Ga., in the NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional Championship game.
 
Lincoln Memorial repeated as South Atlantic Conference regular season champions, won the Southeast Regional and broke the 30-win threshold in Jeremiah Samarrippas' second season as head coach.