Rock Hill, SC - The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team was back in action on Thursday in the South Atlantic Conference semifinal, taking on the 4-seed Carson-Newman Eagles. It was the fifth meeting all-time between the Railsplitters and Eagles in the conference tournament. Three of the previous meetings took place in the semifinals, and the series was tied 2-2 all-time heading into Thursday's contest. The teams split a pair of regular season meetings this year, with Lincoln Memorial winning by 19 at home, and falling by nine on the road.

Carson-Newman started the semifinal game with a three point basket to take its first lead of the game, 3-0. Wes Enis responded with a bucket on the other end, before the Eagles drove the cup for a layup, taking a 5-2 lead. After tying the game at 5-5, the lead would change hands five times, with Carson-Newman maintaining a slim lead 20-17 at the under eight media timeout. Out of the timeout, Lincoln Memorial responded back-to-back second-chace layups from Luke Bartemes, thanks to some terrific offensive rebounding by the nation's leader, Martez Brown. On the heels of a with a 6-0 run, the Railsplitters took a 23-20 lead with 5:40 remaining. The Eagles drew back to within one point 23-22 with 5:14. Neither team was able to score over the course of the next two minutes, leaving Lincoln Memorial narrowly in control late in the first half. With 2:57 left in the first half, Carson-Newman regained control, 25-23. Chase Rankin tied the game at 25-25 moments later. It was the fourth tie of the game to that point. The Eagles regained the lead with under two minutes remaining on a made three pointer, 28-25. Enis connected on a jumper inside to pull back to within one point, 28-27. On the ensuing possession, Enis again wouldn't be denied, driving the tin, connecting on a layup to give Lincoln Memorial a 29-28 lead. However, another three point jumper from Carson-Newman saw the lead change hands for the eighth time, leaving the Eagles narrowly in control, 31-29, which would they would take into the halftime intermission. Brown had six offensive rebounds in the first half.

The Eagles were the first to strike in the second half, from the charity stripe, connecting on one free throw, taking a 32-29 lead. Lincoln Memorial responded with a layup from Enis to cut the score to 32-31. A basket on the ensuing possession by Carson-Newman extended the lead back to three points, 34-31. A pair of Enis free throws cut the deficit back to one point, 34-33. A 6-2 run from the Eagles pushed the score to 40-35 with 15:44 remaining in the game. However, Matthew Sells began to heat up, leading Lincoln Memorial on a 10-5 run with a trio of three pointers, tying the score at 45-45 with 13:51 left in the game. The Railsplitters took their first lead of the second half at 49-47 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game. After tying the game for the sixth time at 49-49, Lincoln Memorial regained the lead from the charity stripe as Enis connected on both attempts, bringing the score to 51-49 with under 10 minutes left in the game. The Railsplitters then went on a short 5-2 run just ahead of the under-eight media timeout in the second half, taking a 56-51 lead. Out of the timeout, Lincoln Memorial matched its largest lead to that point on a pair of free throws from Osmar Garcia-Araujo, taking a 58-51 lead. The lead would remain at seven points as the score swelled to 64-57 with under four minutes left in the game. Carson-Newman responded with a 8-2 run, cutting the deficit to one point, 66-65. As the clock crept below one minute, Lincoln Memorial maintained a three points lead, 68-65 with :32-seconds left in the game. With :18-seconds on the clock, Garcia-Araujo powered to the rim for a layup, giving the Railsplitters their final basket of the game, taking a 70-65 victory, earning a berth in the SAC Tournament Championship game.

Lincoln Memorial was led in scoring by Wes Enis with 22 points. He was followed by fellow freshman Osmar Garcia-Araujo with 15 points in just 18 minutes of game time. Matthew Sells added 11 points, connecting on three shots from long range. Jordan Walters added eight points, Luke Bartemes chipped in seven points, Chase Rankin added six points, and Martez Brown added one point and 14 rebounds for the Railsplitters.

Lincoln Memorial will face the winner of Catawba and Wingate, which had yet to be determined as of press time.