Dahlonega, GA - The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team took to North Georgia University for its Southeast Regional match up of the NCAA DII Men's Basketball Tournament, taking on the Lander Bearcats in the first game for the second consecutive season.

Saturday's game between the Railsplitters and Bearcats lived up to the billing. The two teams battled intensely in the first half, with each team shooting the ball exceptionally well. Lander took control at the beginning of the game, but Lincoln Memorial inevitably stormed back to take the lead at 13-7 in the first four minutes of the game. The Railsplitters' lead swelled to its largest of the first half, 20-12, with 13:18 remaining on the clock. The Bearcats began to storm back, regaining the lead at 23-20 on the heels of an 11-0 run. From then, until the end of the first half, the two teams traded buckets on even footing with Lander maintaining its three point advantage at the break, 37-34.

Keeping with the theme of the first half, both teams continued to be extremely efficient offensively to start the second half. The Railsplitters regained the lead for the first time since the first half, 46-45, as Enis buried a jumper with 15:49 remaining in the game. The Bearcats took the lead on the heels of an 11-5 run, 57-51. Lincoln Memorial clawed back to cut the deficit to two points, 59-57, with 10:16 remaining in the game. Lander strung together another run, 6-1, extending its lead to 65-58 with 7:10 on the clock. Things didn't change much over the course of the next three and a half minutes as the Bearcats' lead swelled to nine points, 72-63, as the clock crept below four minutes.Lander's lead then grew to its largest of the game, 76-65, with just over three minutes left in regulation. A pair of free throws from Enis cut the Lander lead to 76-69 with 1:51 left in the game. The margin remained at seven points until a pair of Lander free throws saw the lead grow to 79-71 with less than a minute remaining. Lincoln Memorial refused to lay over, drawing back to within five points, 81-76, with :33-seconds remaining as Enis buried a three pointer. However, Lander connected on clutch free throws down the stretch, allowing the Bearcats to secure an 85-76 victory, moving on to the Southeast Region semifinal.

The Railsplitters were led in scoring by Wes Enis with 23 points. He was followed by Me'Kell Burries with 14 points, Jordan Walters with 13 points, Chase Rankin with 10 points, Matthew Sells with seven points, Martez Brown and Luke Bartemes with four points each, and Osmar Garcia-Araujo with one point, rounding out scoring for the Railsplitters.

Lincoln Memorial seniors Martez Brown, Chase Rankin, and Luke Bartemes will now move on from the men's basketball program, and will each be missed and revered for their illustrious careers while with the Railsplitters.