ANDERSON, S.C. -- As they've done all season, the backcourt duo of Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) and Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) led the way - combining for 43 points - as the No.13/12 Railsplitters (5-0, 3-0 SAC) escaped Anderson, S.C. with a narrow 65-61 South Atlantic Conference victory over the Anderson Trojans (1-4, 0-2 SAC).
 
Lincoln Memorial overcame an uncharacteristically inefficient and unproductive first half, where they shot just 36 percent with nearly as many turnovers (7) as field goals (9), with a razor sharp 13-for-23 clip in the second half. The Railsplitters finished the contest shooting 45.8 percent (22-for-48) with a 7-for-18 mark from long range, but a dismal 14-for-27 clip at the charity stripe nearly proved detrimental.
 
Luquon Choice rained in all seven of the Railsplitters' three-pointers, as the Laurens, S.C. native produced a game-high 25 points while going 7-for-13 from three-point territory. Choice added three rebounds and a steal while spending all 40 minutes on the court. Through five games, Choice has now connected on 26 of his 44 three-point tries for an unprecedented 59.1 percent rate. Lorenza Ross tacked on 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 35 minutes of work to go alongside five assists. Ross did, however, match a career high with eight turnovers. Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) paired with Choice and Ross to contribute 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. That trio combined for 55 of LMU's 65 points.
 
The first half presented little in the way of offense as the two teams combined to go 17-for-56 from the field and 3-for-19 from three-point range.
 
A Ross jumper staked LMU to a slim 6-5 lead with 13:59 remaining in the half before Anderson used a 7-0 run, closed off by an Alani Adekambi bucket, to make it 12-6 in the home team's favor. Choice scored seven unanswered points and Ross rolled in a layup to pace a 9-0 response which gave the Railsplitters a 15-12 edge with eight minutes left in the frame. The lead changed hands five times over the ensuing passage of play, as another Adekambi bucket pulsed the Trojans in front 21-20 at the 4:35 mark. The Railsplitters once again answered, racking up six straight points to build a 26-21 edge. Maurice Howard would cut the LMU halftime lead to 26-23 with a pair of free throws as neither team would score for the final 1:40 of the period.  
 
Punctuated by the first of Choice's five second-half three-pointers, the Railsplitters opened up the final 20 minutes on a 9-3 run to assume a 35-26 advantage. Lincoln Memorial retained an eight-point edge after a pair of Simmons free throws, but a Nick Jackson three and a Steven Faust layup at the 14:37 mark closed the gap to 39-34. Choice extended the cushion back to eight with a three-pointer just 14 seconds later. The Trojans proved nearly impossible to put away as a 6-2 run that covered 1:40 of game time made it 44-40 in LMU's favor. The Railsplitters answered with two Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) free throws and a Simmons layup to push the lead back to 48-40 with 10:51 to play.
 
The Trojans threatened again at the 7:20 mark as a Matt McClain trifecta cut the Railsplitters' lead to four, but Choice nailed three-pointers in back-to-back possessions to push it back to 61-51 with 5:48 left. A late scoring drought almost proved costly, though, as the Railsplitters went the final 4:24 without a field goal. Ross's layup at that mark sparked Lincoln Memorial to a 63-53 advantage, but a 6-0 AU run trimmed the deficit to 63-59 with just 1:54 remaining. Lincoln Memorial would limit the Trojans to just one more field goal down the stretch, while doing just enough to hold on for the victory at the charity stripe with a pair of makes. The Railsplitters recorded four turnovers in the final 4:24 while going 2-for-6 at the free throw line.
 
The Railsplitters won the battle of the boards 40-30, but they were outscored by their counterparts 28-22 in the paint. Neither team allowed a fast break point in the contest, while Anderson's bench narrowly outproduced LMU's second unit 20-19.
 
The Trojans shot 39.6 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from the free throw line. Myson Jones led Anderson with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Rakish Taylor stepped in off the bench to contribute 13 points. Alani Adekambi collected 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Nick Jackson finished with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with seven points.
 
The win was LMU's third straight in Anderson, S.C. as the Railsplitters got off to a 5-0 start for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
 
The Railsplitters open up a five-game home stand on Saturday, November 29 as they host Tennessee Wesleyan for a nonconference tilt at 4 p.m. inside of Tex Turner Arena.