Harrogate, TN - Three days after securing the outright regular season South Atlantic Conference title, the top-seeded Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team was in action for its first conference tournament game of the 24-25 South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament against the 8-seeded Wingate Bulldogs. The Railsplitters entered the game with a conference leading 21-3 record in conference play. The Bulldogs entered the game with an 11-13 overall record in conference play. When the teams last met in January, Wingate got the best of Lincoln Memorial, securing a 77-72 victory in Wingate, NC.

Monday's game got off to a slow start as both teams tried to familiarize themselves with the neutral court rims. Wingate was first on the board, connecting on a three pointer to start the game. Lincoln Memorial quickly responded with a three pointer of its own to knot the game at 3-3 early on. The Bulldogs took a 5-2 lead before the Railsplitters put together an 11-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 14:40 left in the first half. The lead grew to 16-9 for Lincoln Memorial before Wingate responded with a 10-0 run to regain the lead, 19-16, with 11:13 on the clock. The Railsplitters patched together an 8-0 run in response to regain the lead, 24-19, with less than nine minutes remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs tied the game at 24-24 with 7:15 left in the first half. Lincoln Memorial finished the half outscoring Wingate 15-5 to take a 39-29 lead into the locker room at the half.

The second half began with each team trading buckets, seeing the score swell to 49-39, with Lincoln Memorial still maintaining a 10 point advantage. The Railsplitters gained their largest lead of the game to that point at 12 points, 51-39. The Bulldogs chipped away, little-by-little, but the Railsplitters continued to maintain a 12 point advantage as the score ballooned to 57-45 with 12:48 left in the game. A three pointer from Wes Enis saw the Lincoln Memorial lead reach 15 points, 60-45, with just over 12 minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs failed to cut any further into the lead over the next five minutes, seeing the score balloon to 67-52 in favor of the Railsplitters with under eight minutes remaining in the game. An 8-3 scoring run saw Lincoln Memorial take a 20 point advantage with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Wingate cut the deficit to below 20 points at 85-67 with less than one minute remaining, which would be the game's final score, seeing the Railsplitters advance to the second round of the conference tournament.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial was led in scoring by Wes Enis with 26 points. He was followed by Jordan Walters with 17 points and nine rebounds. Elyjah Freeman added 16 points and six rebounds. Thomas Allard and Connor Jordan added 10 points each. Osmar Garcia-Araujo chipped in five points, and EJ Smith added one point to round out scoring for Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters forced 20 turnovers, leading to 32 points. Lincoln Memorial out rebounded Wingate 38-30, including 12 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second chance points. The Railsplitters shot 44% from the floor, including a 38% mark from long range.