HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) scored 15 second-half points and Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) compiled 19 points and nine assists as the No. 1/2 Railsplitters (18-0, 12-0 SAC) weathered a sluggish start to knock off the Catawba Indians (7-10, 5-7 SAC) 86-76 in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action on early Saturday evening at Tex Turner Arena. Lincoln Memorial extended the nation's longest winning streak to 18 games while using some late free throws to capture its 10th straight win by double figures.
 
The Railsplitters led for nearly 80 percent of the contest but it was rarely easy as Catawba made constant runs to avoid Lincoln Memorial gaining too much separation at any juncture. The Indians finished shooting 40.3 percent from the field, ending the Railsplitters' streak of five consecutive games holding opponents under the 40-percent threshold. Catawba also kept themselves in the game with a near perfect 17-for-21 effort at the charity stripe.
 
Lincoln Memorial, meanwhile, shot better than 50 percent for the sixth straight game, knocking down 30 of its 59 shot attempts. The free throw line proved troublesome for the Railsplitters, though, as the home team went 22-for-36 in the game and missed eight free throws in the second half alone.
 
Luquon Choice led the Railsplitters with 20 points - his sixth 20-point performance of the season - on 6-of-12 shooting and a 4-of-7 mark from three-point territory. He scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half while adding three rebounds and a steal. Lorenza Ross posted a near triple-double with 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds, finishing the contest 8-for-12 from the field. Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) scored 14 points - bolstered by a 10-for-16 mark at the free throw line - in 23 minutes off the bench. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) filled out the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals before fouling out after 28 minutes of action. 
 
The Railsplitters missed their first seven shots of the game until Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) ended the drought with a tip-in at the 16:07 mark. Thankfully, Catawba was almost equally as slow out of the gate as the Railsplitters trailed just 4-2 following Peterson's bucket. The Indians assumed a 10-5 lead on a jumper by Jameel Taylor at 13:27, but the Railsplitters were promptly awoken from their slumber following that basket. The next 4:41 saw the Railsplitters author a 14-0 run, going 6-for-7 from the field over that stretch while forcing the Indians into five straight missed shots. Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) capped the run with a layup at 7:57, giving the Railsplitters a 21-13 cushion.
 
As they did all afternoon, the Indians fought back, scoring 10 of the next 15 points to trim the deficit to 26-23 on two Jerrin Morrison free throws at 3:48. Back-to-back buckets from Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) extended the Railsplitters' advantage to 33-24 with less than a minute remaining in the half, but Vismantas Marijosius earned an old-fashioned three-pointer with 25 ticks left to cut LMU's halftime lead to 33-27.
 
The second half essentially played out the same, with the Railsplitters edging the Indians by four points (53-49). But one particular run ultimately made the difference for the home team. Pinson rolled in a layup with 14:57 left to make it a 10-point lead for the Railsplitters, but Jerrin Morrison and Jameel Taylor bagged back-to-back jumpers to cut the deficit to 46-40 at the 14-minute mark. The Railsplitters took over control of the contest from there, bleeding Catawba dry with a 17-6 flurry over the ensuing passage of play to extend the lead to 63-46. Choice's layup with 9:31 remaining concluded the rally and provided the Railsplitters with their largest lead of the game.
 
The Indians continued to plug away down the stretch but that 17-point hole proved too much to overcome. A Troy Warren layup at 6:25 pushed LMU's lead back into single digits at 65-56, but the Railsplitters answered with a 7-0 run, punctuated by another Choice triple with five minutes left. Four straight free throws by Taylor brought the Indians to within nine at 78-69 with 2:08 remaining, but the Railsplitters were able to do just enough at the charity stripe to stiff arm the Indians. 
 
Catawba was paced by KJ Arrington, who led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Arrington added nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks to his stat ledger. Jerrin Morrison poured in 16 points but he needed 17 shots to accumulate that mark. Ben Sealey scored 12 points, while Vismantas Marijosius and Jameel Taylor contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.
 
The Railsplitters narrowly won the battle of the boards 42-39 and dominated the paint to the tone of a 48-30 scoring advantage inside the square. The Railsplitters assisted on 13 of their 30 baskets and committed only 11 turnovers. The home team turned 14 Catawba turnovers into 16 transition points.
 
Lincoln Memorial earned its fourth straight win over the Indians, while winning its seventh straight head-to-head meeting against Catawba in Tex Turner Arena.
 
The top-billed Railsplitters host the Brevard Tornados – winners of three straight games – in South Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday, January 28. Tip-off in that contest is slated for 8 p.m. at Tex Turner Arena.