HARROGATE, Tenn. - In a very similar performance to the teams' previous meeting nine days ago, the Tornados gave Lincoln Memorial a scare but fell victim to the Railsplitters' suffocating second-half defense in a 71-56 LMU win in Brevard's first postseason game since March of 2011.
The Tornados (12-17) trailed 40-38 at the half after a four-point play by Gerel Simmons 2.6 seconds before the buzzer. Brevard had led by as many as four points in the final moments of the half, due in large part to a 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) shooting performance in the first 20 minutes that included five three-point baskets.
Lincoln Memorial (28-1) flexed its defensive muscles in the second half, however, limiting Brevard to five made field goals and a shooting performance that dipped below 25 percent. The Railsplitters managed just 10 made field goals over the final 20 minutes but outscored the Tornados 31-18 in the second half.
Darius Moose, who earlier in the day was named first team all-conference, matched SAC Player of the Year Lorenza Ross for the game high with 15 points. Moose ends his Brevard career as the first player in the Tornados' NCAA era to score over 1,500 points, finishing with 1,513. He also tops the Brevard record books in several other categories, including with 596 career rebounds.
The Tornados shot 36.7 percent for the game, just below Lincoln Memorial's nation-leading field goal percentage defense average. The Railsplitters entered the game fourth in Division II with a rebounding margin of +10.5 per game and added to that number by topping the Tornados 47-22 on the glass. LMU had 11 second-chance points and outperformed Brevard 34-20 in the paint.
Brevard struggled to defend Lincoln Memorial's big men in the paint early and trailed 25-15 with nine minutes to play before the half. A Phil Wallace shot from long distance sparked a 23-8 Tornados' run, identical to Brevard's decisive stretch over the final six minutes of the improbable win at Wingate on Saturday, that gave the Tornados their largest lead of the game at 37-33 with 2:05 remaining in the half.
The game's key play came on Simmons' four-point play just before the half ended that triggered the third lead change and shifted momentum back to Lincoln Memorial for good. The Railsplitters allowed Brevard to make one field goal over the first six minutes of the second half and saw their lead swell to double digits in a series reminiscent of the teams' meeting at Boshamer Gymnasium on February 23. Brevard cut the lead to 12 with 9:23 remaining on an Alex Moe layup but would get no closer.
Joining Moose in double figures for the Tornados were Miles Leathes and Phil Wallace, who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore DeJon Neal got into the scoring column for the first time in his career, knocking down a pair of free throws in the final minute.
Ross led the Railsplitters with 15 points and was trailed closely by fellow senior Keenan Peterson with 14. The duo make up two-third of the winningest senior class in SAC history and have gone 107-16 over their four-year careers. The Railsplitters also won their 28th game of the season, tying last year's 28-3 team for the conference wins record. Lincoln Memorial is now 10-0 all-time against Brevard inside Tex Turner Arena and has won nine straight in the series.
Brevard's season draws to a close with the loss, while Lincoln Memorial will advance to play fourth-seeded Queens in a SAC Tournament semifinal matchup on Saturday afternoon in Greenville, South Carolina. The Royals were 84-66 winners over Wingate in a SAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup Wednesday night. No. 2 Carson-Newman will face the winner of No. 6 Catawba and No. 3 Newberry in the other semifinal.
Featured image courtesy of Tommy Moss.
