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Men's Basketball

Fifth-seed Wolves aim for upset against top-seed Railsplitters in SAC Tournament semifinals

NEWBERRY - The fifth-seeded Newberry Wolves will hope the third time is a charm, as they take on top-seeded Lincoln Memorial University's Railsplitters in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Saturday.

WHO: No. 5 seed Newberry College vs. No. 1 seed Lincoln Memorial University
WHERE: Furman University's Timmons Arena in Greenville
WHEN: Approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5
RECORDS: Newberry is 18-11 overall and finished 12-10 in the South Atlantic Conference. Lincoln Memorial is 27-2 overall and went 22-0 in SAC play.
LIVE STATS: http://sidearmstats.com/lmu/mbball/ 
LIVE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYpmxoqyCqc 
LIVE AUDIO: www.NewberryWolves.TV and live over the air in Newberry County on WKDK-AM 1240

TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

  • Lincoln Memorial is the first time beside Newberry to lead the conference in scoring since Dave Davis began coaching at Newberry.
  • LMU leads the conference and is second in the nation in scoring at 96.1 points per game.
  • Newberry is second in the conference and third nationally in scoring at 94.9 points per game.

TRENDS IN TOURNAMENT

  • LMU has been in the league for nine years and has made the semifinals in the last six.
  • The Railsplitters have made the finals in four of the last five seasons. They won in 2011 and 2014.
  • This is Newberry's fourth semifinal appearance in the last five years. 
    • The two teams met in the semifinals in Greenville in 2014, with LMU winning 97-76.

STOP THE SHOOTER

  • Newberry has lost twice to LMU already this season, with a Railsplitter simply catching fire from the outside in each game.
  • In the 115-94 loss in December, Jalen Steele scored 40 points, making 10-of-12 three-pointers.
  • In the 107-97 loss in February, it was Luquon Choice with 32 points on 10-of-19 triples.

GAME ONE: No. 13 Lincoln Memorial 115, Newberry 94 in Newberry

  • Newberry's charge back in the second half was not enough in a loss to LMU.
  • Newberry shot 39.8% from the field and season best 84.2% at the charity stripe.
  • Xavier Holmes picked up his fourth double-double in four games going 7-16 from the field giving him 15 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Brandon Taylor notched 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while Ronell Crockettfinished with 11 points, three rebounds, three steals and one assists.  
  • The Wolves tallied 39 rebounds, 16 assists, 10 steals against the Railsplitters.
  • The Railspliiters shot 65.7% from the field while going 18-28 from three point land giving them a 64.3 percentage.Jalen Steele finished with 40 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in the win.

GAME TWO: No. 4 Lincoln Memorial 107, Newberry 97 in Harrogate

  • Newberry charged back from a 23-point deficit late in the first half, cutting the lead to only five points in the final six minutes, but the comeback ultimately fell short in a 107-97 loss to No. 4 Lincoln Memorial.
  • The loss snapped a four-game Newberry winning streak.
  • Mitch Riggs led the Wolves with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He was one of four Wolves in double figure scoring.
  • Xavier Holmes scored 16 points and Gerald Evans and Ronell Crockett each netted 14. Evans also added seven assists.
  • The Wolves once again fell victim to a Railsplitter who was simply on fire from the perimeter, as Luquon Choice was 10-of-19 from three-point land on the way to 32 points, six assists and four rebounds.
  • Choice was tied for high point honors with Gerel Simmons, who had 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
  • The teams combined to make more three-pointers than free throws, as LMU made 18 long-distance baskets and Newberry had 14.
    • Newberry shot 60.9% from three-point land.
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