MARS HILL, N.C. -- A cast of six players scored nine or more points as the No. 1/2 Railsplitters (17-0, 11-0 SAC) earned their third consecutive wire-to-wire victory in a 96-64 bashing of the Mars Hill Lions (7-10, 2-9 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action on Wednesday in Stanford Arena. Lincoln Memorial extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games and completed the first half of the conference schedule with a flawless 11-0 mark.
 
The Railsplitters never trailed in Wednesday's trip to Mars Hill, as the top-ranked team in the most recent DII Media Poll and the second-ranked team in the NABC poll has compiled a streak of 155 consecutive minutes without trailing, a stretch that began at the 15-minute mark of the first half in a win at Wingate on January 10. Amidst its 17-game winning streak, Lincoln Memorial has a current run of nine consecutive wins by 10 points or more.
 
Thanks to Wednesday's victory and a third-consecutive loss by previously 21st-ranked Newberry, the Railsplitters have assumed a commanding four-game lead in the South Atlantic Conference standings as the schedule hits the midway point. Lincoln Memorial entered the 2014-15 campaign vying for its third straight SAC title and fourth in the past five years.
 
The visiting squad dominated the Lions in nearly every phase of the game, shooting 58.2 percent from the field (32-for-55) and falling just shy of a season-high by earning 41 free throw attempts. The Railsplitters added a 6-for-13 effort from three-point range, outscored Mars Hill 46-22 in the painted area and assisted on 16 of their 32 buckets. Defensively, Lincoln Memorial handcuffed the Lions to the tune of a 36.2 percent mark, as Mars Hill became the fifth-straight opponent to fail to shoot better than 40 percent against the stingiest defensive unit in the land. The Lions finished with a paltry 5-for-17 clip from three.
 
Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) scored 13 points in the first half and finished the contest with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Choice buried three three-pointers, grabbed three boards and dished out three assists. Emanuel Terry (Birmingham, Ala.) matched Choice's game-high mark with a career-high 16 points, paired with a team-high seven rebounds, in just 14 minutes off the bench. Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) and Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) poured in 12 points apiece, while Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) finished with 10 points, four boards and three steals. Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) collected nine points in 19 minutes off the bench.
 
The Railsplitters completely dominated the opening half, shooting 50 percent over that span while limiting the Lions to only six first-half field goals. Mars Hill finished 6-for-23 from the floor in the period, good for a mere 26.1 percent clip. Almost half of Mars Hill's offense was produced at the charity stripe, where the Lions went 10-for-17 in the frame. Foul trouble plagued the Railsplitters' front court in the first stanza, as Peterson, Terry, Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) and Dawud Fisher-Grace (Bedford, Ohio) were all whistled for at least two fouls apiece.
 
Two buckets by Peterson bookended a 9-0 run for the Railsplitters to open the contest, and the lead grew to 16-2 on a Choice layup at 15:07. Brandon McCarter provided the Lions with their second field goal of the game at 14:50, but Tim Pierce's traditional three-point play and Ross's jumper increased the LMU advantage to 21-4 just over six minutes into the contest. The Lions trimmed the deficit to as little as 13 on another McCarter jumper with 13:05 left in the half, but the Railsplitters reasserted a commanding 27-9 cushion on Gerel Simmons's layup at 8:58.
 
Isaiah Cuthbertson finally put the Lions into double figures with a free throw 38 seconds later, but the Railsplitters never let Mars Hill claw any closer than within 14 points the rest of the half. Meanwhile, two Dorian Pinson freebies extended the lead back to 39-21 with 1:35 remaining. Choice scored the last three points of the half to send the Railsplitters into the break with a 42-22 advantage.
 
The Lions flashed a much more efficient and productive offense in the second half, more than doubling their first-half output with 15 field goals on 42.9 percent shooting. But the Railsplitters were exponentially better, posting a red-hot 17-for-25 effort (68 percent) in the frame.
 
A Thomas Anderson layup trimmed LMU's lead to 52-35 with 15:14 left, but the Railsplitters scored nine unanswered points to make it a 26-point game. The lead hovered around the mid-20's until a Terry dunk and layup on back-to-back possessions built the Railsplitters' cushion to 82-52 with 3:55 left. The deficit continued to grow in spite of Michael Carson's best efforts, as he scored 14 second-half points for the Lions. A free throw by Fisher-Grace with 3:04 on the clock gave LMU its largest lead of the game at 85-52. Terry's fifth dunk of the game accounted for the final two points of the night.
 
Carson led the Lions in scoring with his 14 points, while Isaiah Cuthbertson contributed 13 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of work. Kevin Haynes scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 22 minutes for the Lions' second unit. Brandon McCarter finished the night with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
The Railsplitters defeated Mars Hill for the 12th consecutive time, a streak dating back to a 94-84 win on February 11, 2010. It was the seventh game over that span that was decided by at least 20 points.
 
LMU returns to Tex Turner Arena for its next two games, beginning with a South Atlantic Conference tilt against the Catawba Indians at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 24.