Harrogate, TN - The holiest month in the basketball calendar has arrived and with it, madness ensues. Seeds have been sewn and brackets have been set. The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team earned a 4-seed in the southeast region and will take on a familiar foe in the first round of the tournament. Lincoln Memorial drew 5th-seeded UNC-Pembroke in the first round of the region. Although the Railsplitters and Braves don't have an extensive history, the two teams have met four times on some big stages. Last season, Lincoln Memorial opened its home slate against then-8th-ranked UNC-Pembroke in what was a nationally top-10 match up. The Railsplitters edged the Braves in an exciting 71-69 game. The two met earlier this season in Lincoln Memorials' final non-conference match up of the season in Pembroke, NC and the Braves outlasted the Railsplitters 83-75. It is the only time in four games that UNC-Pembroke defeated Lincoln Memorial.

UNC-Pembroke went on to finish the regular season with a 21-6 record, including a 16-2 conference record, riding a 10-game winning streak into its conference tournament. The Braves bested 5th-seeded King and 2nd-seeded Emmanuel to claim the Conference Carolinas crown, earning the 5th-seed in the southeast region of the NCAA DII Men's Basketball Tournament.

Lincoln Memorial wrapped up the regular season with a 23-4 overall record, including a 19-2 conference record, claiming the South Atlantic Conference regular season title. The Railsplitters defeated Wingate and Carson-Newman in route to its second consecutive conference tournament championship game. Lincoln Memorial dropped a heart breaker to Lenoir-Rhyne in overtime to finish as the SAC Tournament runner-up.

The Railsplitters saw three players earn postseason awards. Sophomore guard Wes Enis was named South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year as well as Defensive Player of the Year and was also named First Team All-SAC. Freshman phenom Elyjah Freeman was named the conference's Freshman of the Year as well as First Team All-SAC. Fellow freshman phenom EJ Smith was named to the conference's All-Freshman team.

Enis, who averages 20.3 points-per-game and 4.5 rebounds-per-game, leads Lincoln Memorial in scoring. He is the second leading scorer in the conference and recently scored the 1000th point of his career in the SAC Tournament Championship game in just 1.5 years of collegiate basketball. He is followed in scoring by Freeman with 18.4 points-per-game and 8.8 rebounds-per-game. He is the highest scoring and rebounding freshman in the conference. All-Freshman selection EJ Smith averages 8.7 points-per-game.

Tip-off between the Railsplitters and Braves is slated for 7:30 PM on March 15 in Columbus, Georgia at Columbus State University.