Photos by Jay Compton|Daily News Lincoln Memorial senior forward Dustin Craig gets fouled on his way to the basket during action in Wednesday's game. Craig came off the bench to score eight points and grab ten rebounds in the Railsplitters' 82-53 win over Tusculum in the first round of the SAC Tournament.

slideshow

Senior guard Cam Carden dribbles along the wing as senior forward Jake Troyli posts up during LMU's SAC quarterfinal game against Tusculum on Wednesday. Carden scored 17 points and Troyli 16 to lead the Railsplitters to an 82-53 win. They'll meet Carson-Newman in the semifinals on Saturday.

slideshow

HARROGATE, Tenn. — The top-seeded Railsplitters cruised past Tusculum 82-53 in the the quarterfinals of the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Championship on Wednesday in Tex Turner Arena.

No. 11 Lincoln Memorial University (23-4) advances to the SAC semifinals where they will face fourth-seeded Carson-Newman on Saturday in Greenville, S.C. The loss eliminates Tusculum (6-21) from the SAC Tournament.

The game was never in question for LMU, as they rolled out to an early 7-0 advantage and led wire-to-wire to claim the victory. The Pioneers did not reach double-figures until the 8:53 mark of the first half and the Railsplitters canned 18 of their 29 field goal attempts in the first stanza to mount a 42-21 advantage by the intermission. The Railsplitters continued their offensive assault in the second period, notching a 48.4-percent clip over the final 20 minutes of action to cap an 82-53 victory. LMU never led by less than 16 in the second half and amassed as large as a 33-point advantage before bringing home a 29-point triumph.

For the game, the Railsplitters hit 33 of their 60 shot attempts (55 percent), while limiting the Pioneers to only a 33.3 percent effort from the floor. Five different players scored at least nine points in the game with Cam Carden spearheading the offensive attack with 17 points on a seven-of-11 shooting. Carden also reigned in five rebounds and three assists to fill out his stat sheet for the contest. Jake Troyli added 16 points to go along with six rebounds and a block in 23 minutes of action, while Vincent Bailey collected 12 points and eight rebounds.

Lorenza Ross and Chance Jones bolstered the LMU back court with nine points apiece and combined for seven rebounds and eight assists to pace the Railsplitters to 14 assists for the game. Dustin Craig chimed in with eight points and led Lincoln Memorial to a commanding 41-28 advantage on the glass with a game-high 10 rebounds. Craig also left his mark on the game defensively with two blocks and a steal in 21 minutes of work.

Lincoln Memorial created 11 turnovers in the contest which were made into 21 points, while also dominating the paint with a 44-24 disparity inside the square. LMU’s second unit outscored the Pioneers’ bench, 19-14, in the game. Along with Craig, Tim Pierce and Tristan Hicks lifted that group with a combined 10 points.

Addison Flynn was the lone Pioneer to cross the double-digit scoring plateau, as he paced Tusculum with 11 points. Neal Spinks, Darius Carter and Nick Spinks chipped in with eight points apiece for the Pioneers.

With the quarterfinal win in the books, the Railsplitters direct their attention towards fourth-seeded Carson-Newman, as Lincoln Memorial is set to duel the Eagles on Saturday with a spot in the SAC championship game on the line. The Railsplitters and Eagles are scheduled to square off at Furman University’s Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C., at 5:30 p.m. Carson-Newman got past Lenoir-Rhyne, 58-54 in their quarterfinal game.

— — —

TUSCULUM (6-21)

Addison Flynn 5-11 0-0 11, Nick Spinks 4-12 0-0 8, Darius Carter 1-8 6-6 8, Neal Spinks 3-6 2-3 8, Matt Shown 3-5 0-0 6, Keith Jumper 1-9 2-4 4, J.D. Miller 1-3 1-2 3, Martin Jorgensen 1-1 0-0 3, Rory McClure 1-1 0-0 2, Ben Arnold 0-1 0-0 0, B.J. Fisher 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 11-15 53.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL (23-4)

Cam Carden 7-11 1-3 17, Jake Troyli 7-12 0-0 16, Vincent Bailey 6-11 0-0 12, Chance Jones 3-7 2-2 9, Lorenza Ross 4-8 1-1 9, Dustin Craig 2-4 4-4 8, Tim Pierce 3-5 0-0 6, Tristan Hicks 1-1 2-2 4, Jairocey Simpson 0-0 1-2 1, Keenan Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Curtis McMillion 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-60 11-14 82.

Tusculum…………… 21 32 — 53

Lincoln Memorial… 42 40 — 82

3-point goals—Tusculum 2-8 (Flynn 1-3, Jorgensen 1-1, Carter 0-1, NiSpinks 0-3); Lincoln Memorial 5-14 (Carden 2-5, Troyli 2-3, Jones 1-3, Pierce 0-2, Ross 0-1). Fouled out—Tusculum-None, Lincoln Memorial-None. Rebounds—Tusculum 28 (Miller 5, Shown 5, NeSpinks 5); Lincoln Memorial 41 (Craig 10). Assists—Tusculum 4 (NiSpinks 3); Lincoln Memorial 14 (Ross 4, Jones 4). Total fouls—Tusculum 9, Lincoln Memorial 14. Technical fouls—None. A-567.