Lincoln Memorial, Wingate Eliminated from NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

No. 3 Barton 76, No. 2 Lincoln Memorial 61

AIKEN, S.C. - The 13th-ranked and second-seeded Railsplitters rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to cut to within two points with 9:40 remaining, however, the three-seeded Barton College Bulldogs closed the game on a 21-8 run to oust Lincoln Memorial from the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, 76-61, on Sunday in Aiken, South Carolina.

For the second-consecutive season, Lincoln Memorial University (25-6) saw their season come to a close in the semifinals of the Southeast Regional, while Barton (23-7) advances to the Southeast Regional Final where they await the winner of No. 4 Wingate and No. 1 USC-Aiken.

The Railsplitters and Bulldogs played to a near draw throughout much of the first half, as the two teams met in five ties while the lead changed hands nine times over the first 13 minutes of action. The largest lead for either team over that span was a 16-13 advantage for Lincoln Memorial on a layup by Chance Jones at the 11:52 mark, while Barton grabbed a 7-4 lead on a offensive rebound and a dunk by Jon Hart at the 17:18 mark.

Vincent Bailey brought the game to its final tie of the first half with a layup at the 6:39 mark to square the game at 21-21. However, the Bulldogs were the beneficiaries of the final lead change of the period, as they used two three-pointers by Chris Flemmings and another by Tristan Thomas to run out 11-unanswered points and take a 32-21 lead by the 4:37 mark.

Chance Jones stopped the bleeding for Lincoln Memorial with a six-for-six effort from the charity stripe over the last four minutes of the half, but the Railsplitters were held without a field goal for the remainder of the half following Bailey's game-tying bucket with 6:39 left. From the 11:03 mark of the first stanza, the Railsplitters were limited to only two field goals. The Bulldogs answered Jones' six free throws to end the half with two free throws apiece by Chris Flemmings and Gerald Boston to go into the break holding a 38-27 lead.

The two-headed attack of Gerald Boston and Chris Flemmings carried the Bulldogs' offensive attack in the first half, as those two combined for 24 points with Boston leading that duo with 14. Barton was held to only 35% shooting in the frame, however, they canned six three-pointers and earned a 22-20 advantage on the glass, with nine offensive boards, to assume the lead.

The full-court pressure by the Bulldogs limited the Railsplitters to only 33% shooting in the half and forced LMU into committing eight turnovers. Chance Jones spearheaded the offensive attack in the first frame with eight points.

Coming out of the break, Lincoln Memorial snapped out of their offensive funk from the opening half, as they cut the deficit back to 47-43 at the 15:32 mark of regulation on a three by Cam Carden, which capped a 9-0 run for the Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial was seven-for-eight from the field over that opening stretch of the second half which fueled the comeback.

Keith Manley followed Carden's three with a pair of free throws, but Chance Jones answered for the Railsplitters on the other end with a layup to keep the score at only a four-point advantage in favor of the Bulldogs with 14:29 to play.

Barton briefly extended their lead out to eight at 53-45 following four-unanswered points by Gerald Boston, however, the Railsplitters fought back, using a 8-2 run fueled by four points from Dustin Craig and capped with a jumper by Tim Pierce at the 9:40 mark to make it a two-point game.

Despite cutting to within two, the Railsplitters would go dormant on the offensive end while the Bulldogs would reassert themselves offensively for the remainder. The Bulldogs broke away from the Railsplitters with a 9-2 run concluded with a pair of jumpers by Gerald Boston to extend their lead back to 64-55 at the 6:25 mark. The Railsplitters briefly countered with a jump shot by Vincent Bailey and two free throws by Lorenza Ross, however, Barton scored six-unanswered points to push out to a double-digit lead which the Railsplitters were unable to overcome.

After Tim Pierce netted his jumper to cut the deficit to two at the 9:40 mark, the Railsplitters were limited to only one field goal for the remainder of the game, as the Bulldogs finished on a 21-8 run to grab the victory. The only other points over that span for the Railsplitters came at the charity stripe.

The Railsplitters rebounded from a poor shooting performance in the opening half to tally a 43.5% clip from the field, however, they finished with a three-for-11 mark from long range. LMU was edged 38-34 on the boards, while Barton also won the turnover battle, 16-7.

The loss by Lincoln Memorial spoiled a stellar performance by junior guard Chance Jones, as he notched 18 points with 10 coming in the second half. Jones nailed four of his eight shots from the field and went a perfect nine-for-nine from the charity stripe, battling through foul trouble to turn in a gutsy outing for the Railsplitters. The only other Railsplitter in double figures was Vincent Bailey, as the junior forward posted 12 points in 28 minutes of action.

Senior Dustin Craig put in nine points and matched a team-high with eight rebounds off the bench in his final game with the Railsplitters. Also playing in his final game, Jake Troyli raked in eight rebounds but struggled offensively with only two points. Lorenza Ross chipped in with seven points.

Senior Cam Carden played all 40 minutes for the Railsplitters, contributing five points, three assists and a rebound in the final game of his brilliant career at Lincoln Memorial.

The Bulldogs were limited to only a 41.3% effort from the field, however, they drained eight threes in the game and went a nearly unblemished 16-for-17 from the charity stripe. Gerald Boston was the story of the contest for Barton, as he compiled a game-high 30 points, marked by a 10-for-10 effort from the free-throw line. Boston added a game-high seven assists and three boards in 37 minutes of work.

Keith Manley added 12 points on five-of-11 shooting, while Chris Flemmings sparked the Bulldogs off the bench with 13 points on a three-for-seven mark from deep.

The Bulldogs amassed 17 more shots than the Railsplitters in the contest, as they used 15 offensive rebounds to provide extra possessions.

The 2012-13 season saw Lincoln Memorial record their fourth-consecutive 20-win season, as they have amassed a 98-24 mark over that span. Four-year seniors Wally Jones, Cam Carden and Dustin Craig will leave LMU as the all-time winningest players in the history of the program. The Railsplitters will begin the 2013-14 season in the midst of a South Atlantic Conference record streak of 42-consecutive weeks ranked inside the NABC/Division II national poll.

No. 1 S.C.-Aiken 69, No. 4 Wingate 57

AIKEN, S.C. The 20th-ranked and top-seeded Pacers of USC Aiken outscored #25 Wingate University 42-28 in the second half Sunday night, overcoming a two-point halftime deficit to register a 69-57 victory in the NCAA regional semifinals. The Pacers improve to 24-7 overall, advancing to Tuesday's regional championship game. The Bulldogs end their season at 22-9 overall.

Wingate sees its season end in the NCAA regional semifinals for the second straight year. The Bulldogs won 20 games for the second straight time in the 2012-13 season. Wingate won the Food Lion SAC Tournament title for the second straight year as well, while playing in its third consecutive SAC championship game. The five Bulldog seniors finish their impressive careers with an overall record of 76-45. "This is a pretty special group of people," head coachBrian Good says about his five seniors. "I have been very fortunate to be associated with them. They have helped establish our basketball program to level we'd like for it to be at. I'll always remember these guys."

Ronald Zimmerman led the Pacers with 15 points, hitting four-of-six shots from beyond the arc. Paul Larsen added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Santoine Butler had 11 points for the Pacers. Re'mon Nelson registered 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore guard Ryan Daye had 14 points to lead the Wingate attack, adding five rebounds and two assists. Senior forward Odell Turner added 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Ethan Kincaid had eight points and six rebounds, while junior forward Jeff Parker contributed seven points and nine rebounds.

"I thought the key would be handling pressure, making sure we got good shots, and didn't allow bad shots and turnovers to turn into baskets on the other end," Good says. We did that well in the first half, but we got away from it in second half. We shot the ball poorly tonight. We missed some point blank shots and you can't get away with that against a team like USC Aiken."

The Pacers jumped out to an early 9-6 lead on a Nelson jumper six minutes into the first half. A triple from Zimmerman, along with two free throws gave USC Aiken a 16-11 lead at the 9:18 mark. Wingate answered with a 14-2 run to take a seven-point lead. Daye got it started with a layup and a three, while another Daye triple made it 21-18. An offensive rebound and putback from Parker capped the run, making it 25-18 with 4:20 left in the half. The Pacers closed the half on a 9-4 run, cutting the lead to two on a pair of Butler free throws with 35 seconds left.

A Kincaid layup four minutes into the second half helped Wingate regain a two-point lead. The Pacers responded with a 7-0 run, taking a 40-35 lead on a Zimmerman triple with 14 minutes to go. Turner answered with a three-point play, while a Parker putback tied the game at 40. Two Turner free throws tied the game for the final time at 42.

USC Aiken would go on a pivotal 11-0 run, taking a 53-42 lead at the eight-minute mark. Larsen started the flurry with a layup, while a three-point play from Jesse Seilern capped the spurt. A jumper and two free throws from Nelson pushed the Aiken advantage to 15 at the 3:27 mark. Wingate trimmed the deficit below double figures on a three from senior guard Paidrick Matilus with 58 seconds remaining, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get the rest of the way.

USC Aiken shot 42.3 percent from the field, shooting 56 percent in the second half. The Pacers hit six-of-18 shots from three-point range (33.3 percent). Wingate shot 38.3 percent from the field, going three-for-13 from beyond the arc (23.1 percent). The Bulldogs out-rebounded USC Aiken 41-31, while out-scoring the Pacers 34-26 in the paint. Wingate also held a 13-5 edge in second-chance points.