Lincoln Memorial surprises Queens in Southeast Regional final
Lincoln Memorial pulled off the rarest of feats against Queens.
The Railsplitters broke open a tight game late to beat the Royals 82-68 in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional final Tuesday at Curry Arena, handing Queens just its second home loss of the season. With the victory against its South Atlantic Conference rival, Lincoln Memorial (29-5) advances to the Elite Eight next week in Sioux Falls, S.D.
“It’s been four games and all four were a lot closer than the score indicated,” Railsplitters coach Josh Schertz said. “Either team would think is good enough to win a national championship.”
Four Railsplitters scored in double figures, led by freshman point guard Deshawn Patterson with 16 points – all in the second half. Tournament MVP Trevon Shaw and Emanuel Terry scored 15 each.
“In games like this, points are hard to come by,” Schertz said. “It’s tough to get baskets and somebody unexpected comes into the spotlight, and Deshawn was that for us.”
Queens struggled to find the range, hitting 36.8 percent of its shots (21-of-57) and 17 of 31 free throws, including 12 of 21 in the second half as the Railsplitters pulled away.
“We just weren’t us,” Queens coach Bart Lundy said. “As crazy as it sounds, we missed free throws. We’re actually a very good free-throw shooting team. They made plays in the second half.”
Mike Davis led Queens with 18 points. Todd Withers added 16 and Ike Agusi had 15.
Unlike the first three meetings, which Queens won twice, Lincoln Memorial grabbed control over the final 10 minutes and kept the Royals (30-4) at bay.
The first half was back and forth with 13 lead changes and seven ties before Lincoln Memorial pulled ahead 34-32 at the break. The Railsplitters were more efficient on offense, connecting on 14 of 27 shots (51.9 percent) compared to Queens’ 11 of 30 (36.7 percent).
The Royals, however, used 5-of-14 shooting from 3-point range to remain in the hunt. They were also better at converting errors into opportunities with 10 points off seven Lincoln Memorial turnovers, compared to zero points for the Railsplitters on four Royals miscues.
Queens guard Agusi was the only player from either team to break double digits in the first half with 11 points, including 3-of-6 shooting. Withers added eight. Chris Perry led Lincoln Memorial with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Lincoln Memorial surprises Queens in Southeast Regional final."