GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The No. 2 nationally-ranked and top-seeded Railsplitters (29-2) withstood a valiant second-half surge to knock off the three-seeded Wingate Bulldogs (22-9) 95-83 and claim their third South Atlantic Conference Championship title in the past six seasons on Sunday afternoon, March 6, at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. With the tournament championship in tow, Lincoln Memorial, the four-time defending SAC regular-season champs, earns the league's automatic berth to the 2016 NCAA Division II Tournament.
Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) fell just four assists shy of a triple-double, posting 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds and six assists. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) - the SAC Championship Most Valuable Player - also scored 20 points, finishing 6-of-10 from the floor with three triples. Gerel Simmons(Accokeek, Md.) and Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) racked up double figures as well for the Railsplitters to cap their All-Tournament performances. Simmons scored 19 points and grabbed four rebounds, while Steele had 15 points and seven boards. Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) chipped in eight points and four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The win also all but assures that Josh Schertz's Lincoln Memorial club will host the 2016 Southeast Regional in its entirety at Tex Turner Arena, as the Railsplitters entered the SAC Championship firmly atop the Southeast Region rankings. The 64-team NCAA Tournament field and the sites for this coming weekend's regional tournaments were scheduled to be announced via a live selection show at the NCAA.com at 10:30 p.m. Sunday night.
The Railsplitters will enter the tournament -- which begins on Saturday, March 12 -- riding a 19-game winning streak, which is three shy of matching the longest winning streak in program and conference history.
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