HARROGATE, Tenn. -- A monkey was lifted off of the fourth-ranked Railsplitters' (13-0, 7-0 SAC) backs on Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena in a 73-54 victory over the Anderson Trojans (7-6, 3-4 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action. Lincoln Memorial ended a streak of three-consecutive home losses to the Trojans, a span that dates back to the 2011-12 campaign.
 
The 19-point victory was the largest margin for either team in the 12-game history of the LMU/Anderson series, which began on January 15, 2011. Neither team had won a game in the series by more than 11 points prior to Wednesday, while seven of the 12 games had been decided by five points or fewer. With the win, the Railsplitters swept the regular-season series against Anderson for the first time in program history. The win also erased the sour taste left over from last season's meeting at Tex Turner, when the Trojans erased an 18-point, second-half deficit to defeat the Railsplitters in overtime.
 
A quartet of scorers fronted an efficient offensive attack for the Railsplitters, who finished shooting 54 percent from the floor, 42 percent from long distance and 58 percent from the charity stripe. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) buried four three-pointers and went 6-for-10 from the field while racking up a game-high 20 points to lead the Railsplitters. Choice added a pair of rebounds and three assists to his stat ledger. Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) nearly recorded a triple-double, but settled for a double-double with 14 points, 14 assists and six rebounds. Ross broke LMU's single-game record for assists, which was previously shared by Fred Lee and Carlos Sanford with 13. Ross's outing is tied for the fifth-most assists in a single-game in SAC history. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) added 11 points and nine rebounds, while Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) posted 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) contributed seven points and eight rebounds.
 
While the offense thrived, a gritty and intense defensive effort was front and center in the Railsplitters' victory. Anderson was limited to just a 19-for-56 mark (33.9 percent) from the field and a 3-for-17 effort (17.6 percent) from three-point range. The Trojans didn't do themselves any favors by missing 11 free throw attempts on the night. The 54 points were the second-fewest scored by any team in the LMU/Anderson series. The Trojans were limited to just 52 points in a nine-point loss in Anderson, S.C. on February 16, 2013.
 
The Trojans started red hot on Wednesday night, knocking down six of their first eight shot attempts to race out to a 15-9 lead on a Myson Jones layup with 11:40 left in the first half. From there, the Railsplitters put on the clamps defensively, outscoring Anderson 25-8 over the final 11 minutes of the half. Lincoln Memorial went 10-for-13 during that flurry, while Anderson finished a paltry 3-for-16 over that same span. It was a 9-0 run that swung the momentum back in the Railsplitters' favor, as Ross buried a three-pointer from the left wing to give the home team an 18-15 lead at 8:46. By the two-minute mark, the advantage ballooned to 12 on a Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) jumper. The Railsplitters took a 34-23 lead into the half.
 
A Pinson layup and an old-fashioned three-point play from Choice pulsed the LMU lead to 39-23 just over a minute into the second half, but Tre Fields scored six unanswered points to pull the Trojans back to within 10 by the 16:18 mark. The Railsplitters went 2-for-1 over the next seven minutes, though, slowly extending their advantage to 58-40 on two Pinson freebies with 9:09 showing on the clock. Uncharacteristic of the series, there was relatively little drama down the stretch, as the Railsplitters never led by less than 15 during the final 10 minutes of regulation, while a trey by Ross built the cushion to 69-49 with 1:57 left. LMU led by as many as 21 before settling for the 19-point triumph.
 
Chris Ross was the only Trojan to record double digits as the big man tossed in 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 20 minutes of action. Maurice Howard added nine points, while Myson Jones contributed eight points on just 2-of-9 shooting. Tre Fields scored seven points and matched the team-lead with five rebounds.
 
The Railsplitters will look to match the second-longest winning streak to open a season in program history on Saturday, January 10, as they travel to Wingate, N.C. for a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Wingate Bulldogs. Tip-off in that contest is set for 4 p.m. in Cuddy Arena.