HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The 13th-ranked Railsplitters (6-0) assisted on 30 of their 37 buckets in a 100-56 dismantling of the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs (4-5) in NCAA Division II men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Tex Turner Arena. The win extended Lincoln Memorial's streak of consecutive nonconference home victories to 31, as the 'Splitters have not suffered a loss to a non-South Atlantic Conference foe in Harrogate since the 2008-09 campaign.
Twelve of the 15 players to appear in the contest for the Railsplitters registered at least two points, as the boys in Blue and Gray crossed the 100-point threshold for the first time this season and the eighth time since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Senior
Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) led that group with a career-high 22 points, as the College Park, Ga. native went a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe while adding six rebounds in just 16 minutes of work.
Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) and
Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) pitched in 11 points apiece, finishing 5-for-9 from three-point range collectively.
Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.),
Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) and
Dawud Fisher-Grace (Bedford, Ohio) chipped in with nine points apiece, as that trio fronted a second unit that outscored the Bulldogs' bench 52-21.
Despite being limited to a season-low four points, senior
Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) racked up a career-high 11 assists in just 19 minutes of work. Behind his effort, the Railsplitters accumulated the fourth-most assists in a single game in program history with 30. That unselfish play was also aided by CJ Wakeley's (Alachua, Fla.) five assists and Webb's four.
After playing to a near stalemate through the first 10 minutes of action, with the Railsplitters holding a narrow 17-13 edge following a Hayden Mosley bucket, the home unit effectively put the game out of reach with a startling 27-3 run over a 6:04 stretch. That flurry was composed mainly of a 21-0 run that was keyed by four Peterson layups, each of which were assisted on by Ross. A Derek Triplett three-pointer at the 5:00 mark ended a nearly five and a half minute scoring drought by the Bulldogs, but the Railsplitters scored seven more unanswered points to bulge their lead to 46-16. The Railsplitters carried a 54-26 advantage into the half.
A Pierce three-pointer opened the second half and extended LMU's lead to 57-26, but Tennessee Wesleyan went 6-for-7 from the field over the next 4:26 to pace a 15-6 run. That trimmed the Railsplitters' cushion to 22, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get in the second half. A
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) layup at the 12:18 mark pulsed the LMU lead to 73-43, while a Wakeley three-pointer made it a 38 point game with 7:06 remaining in regulation. The Railsplitters never led by less than 33 over the final seven minutes, closing on a 10-0 run to win by 44.
The Railsplitters finished shooting 58.7 percent from the field (37-for-63), 55 percent from three-point range (11-for-20) and 62.5 percent from the charity stripe (15-for-24). Lincoln Memorial outrebounded the visiting squad 47-21 while accruing a 50-30 disparity on points in the paint. Through six games, the Railsplitters are shooting the rock at a 48.9 percent clip from long range, more than four percentage points better than anyone else in the SAC.
Devante Jenkins led the Bulldogs with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, while Leland Robinson chipped in 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Derek Triplett posted nine points and four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. Tennessee Wesleyan shot 37.7 percent from the field (20-for-53) and 11.1 percent from three (2-for-18).
The Railsplitters return to action on Wednesday, December 3, hosting Ohio Midwestern in a nonconference tilt at Tex Turner Arena. That contest is set for a 7 p.m. tip.
