Railsplitters Hold Off Late Charge From Newberry To Nail Down 5^th Place In Final League Standings

HARROGATE, TN – The Indians cut a 20 point LMU lead to two on Saturday, but the Railsplitters stood their ground to survive the run and come away with a 75-68 victory to solidify the #5 spot in the South Atlantic Conference regular season race. (Box score)

Playing in front of a sizable home crowd that included many family members and friends on senior night, the Railsplitters looked as though they were extremely focused in the first half with David Lopez (Tucson, AZ) leading the attack from behind the three point line.  Lopez had 17 points at the end of the half, knocking down 5-6 three pointers to give the Railsplitters a 33-27 lead at the intermission.

Nearly midway through the second half of play, the Railsplitters threatened to run away with the game as they extended the lead to 20 with 11:29 remaining in the contest.  Newberry came storming back however, cutting the 20 point LMU margin to just three with 2:41 to go.  LMU’s senior leadership down the stretch helped the Railsplitters survive the storm, and Lincoln Memorial escaped with a narrow seven point win to sweep the home and away series with Newberry.

Lopez led all scorers with 23 points while freshman Beau Brown (Athens, TN) put in 16 more to help the cause.  Also in figures was LMU senior Artavius Mitchell (Chicago, IL) who finished the evening with 14 points to help push the Railsplitters to 13-14 on the year and 7-9 in the South Atlantic Conference.

Having clinched the #5 position in the final South Atlantic Conference regular season standings, the Railsplitters now prepare to take on the league’s #4 ranked team Lenoir-Rhyne College in first round action of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Wednesday night in Hickory, North Carolina.  The game between the Railsplitters and the Bears is set to get underway at 7:00 p.m. on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus.