Railsplitters To Battle Mars Hill In SAC Quarterfinals
March 2, 2010
HARROGATE, TN - The Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team will be fighting for its post season life Wednesday night when the Railsplitters host Mars Hill College in the Quarterfinals of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament in the Tex Turner Arena.
Originally cast as the tournament's no. 5 seed, the Railsplitters were afforded the no. 4 seed in the tournament and Mars Hill dropped from no. 4 to no. 5 seed after the South Atlantic Conference made a ruling early this week that Mars Hill had unknowingly played an ineligible player and would have to vacate several games in which the individual had participated.
While the decision cost the Lions the right to host the quarterfinals of the tournament against LMU, the two teams remained pitted against each other, as the ruling only moved Mars Hill back one notch into the no. 5 seed position of this year's tournament.
Many folk throughout the South Atlantic Conference believe the winner of Wednesday evenings game between Lincoln Memorial University and Mars Hill College will eventually advance to the South Atlantic Conference Championship game in Hickory, North Carolina, as both teams have defeated the best the conference has to offer and Wednesday's game seems to be the toughest pairing of the first round of the tournament.
On January 23, Mars Hill came to Harrogate and handed the Railsplitters their first home loss in a 96-92 overtime decision. Only weeks later on February 11, LMU traveled to Mars Hill, North Carolina and avenged that loss when the Railsplitters defeated the Lions 94-84 to even the home-and-away series at a game each for the season.
Wednesday night's meeting between the Railsplitters and the Lions will showcase three of the South Atlantic Conference's top players in D'Mario Curry (6'7" 190 lb. forward - LMU), Danny Sanders (6'3" 190 lb. guard - MHC) and Stoney Polite (5'10" 165 lb. guard - MHC).
Tickets for Wednesday night's game can be purchased at the gate and are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. The winner will advance to the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Final Four in Hickory, North Carolina this weekend.
