BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The King Tornado (1-0) hit 13 three-pointers and used a 19-1 run early in the second half to hand the fifth-ranked Railsplitters (0-1) an 83-69 loss in the 2015-16 season opener on Friday in Bristol, Tenn.
 
The loss ended Lincoln Memorial's seven-game winning streak in season openers under head coach Josh Schertz while also snapping the program's 13-game road winning streak dating back to a 79-77 loss at Carson-Newman on February 5, 2014. It was the Railsplitters' first nonconference road loss since December 8, 2012.

King defeated Lincoln Memorial for the first time since 2006, halting a 10-game losing skid in the series.

Emanuel Terry (Birmingham, Ala.) led the Railsplitters with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, with 12 of his 14 points coming off of dunks. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) put up 11 points with two three-pointers to go along with a team-high five rebounds. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 10 point in his debut in the Blue and Gray, but went just 4-of-13 from the field.
 
C.J. Good paced King with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 6-of-7 shooting from behind the three-point line. Mikquell Jackson pitched in 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench while Calvin Walker had 11 points, nine assists and two steals. Drew Standifer notched 10 points and six rebounds, tying Hunter LeVeau for the game-high mark in that category.
 
The Railsplitters shot 43.6 percent from the field hampered by an 11-for-29 (37.9 percent) effort in the second half. King, meanwhile, finished shooting 50.9 percent for the game with a 15-for-26 (57.7 percent) clip in the second half. Lincoln Memorial was 7-for-19 from three-point range while the Tornado buried 13 threes on a 46.4 percent mark.
 
"King was the more competitive, more aggressive and tougher team," Schertz said after the game. "They really dominated us on the backboards, and they were more physical and more aggressive. We couldn't guard them. They got open threes and backdoor layups. They just really manhandled us. What we've done to people in the past, they did to us tonight."
 
The Railsplitters were ranked fourth in the nation last season in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by an average of nine boards per game. But King set the tone for the game on the glass by grabbing a 38-28 rebounding edge that included 11 offensive boards. Those extra opportunities resulted in 11 second-chance points for the Tornado.
 
After absorbing an early flurry by the Tornado, the Railsplitters used an 11-1 run midway through the first half to build a 28-21 cushion with eight minutes remaining in the frame. The Tornado chipped away at Lincoln Memorial's lead as time ticked away in the half, eventually taking a 40-38 lead on a layup by Good with 43 seconds left. But Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.) knocked down a jumper with 10 seconds left to send the two teams into the half knotted at 40 apiece.
 
The Railsplitters shot 50 percent from the field and from three-point range through the first 20 minutes of action while holding King to just a 35.7 percent mark from deep, but that changed quickly to start the second half.
 
An emphatic dunk by Terry gave the Railsplitters a brief 42-40 lead 20 seconds into the second half, but the Tornado buried back-to-back-to-back three-pointers over the next three possessions to kick-start a 19-1 run that put the home team in front 59-43 with 14:46 left. That was a harbinger of things to come, too, as the Tornado went 8-for-14 from the three-point arc in the second half to outscore the Railsplitters 43-29.
 
Two untimely Tornado three-pointers ultimately sealed the Railsplitters' fate. After falling behind by 16 points, Lincoln Memorial churned out a 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer and a jumper from Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.), to trim the deficit to 59-52 with 12 to play. But then Good got loose in the Railsplitters' defense and hit back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead back to 65-52.
 
The Railsplitters pulled back to within seven points again on a Webb lay-in with 8:38 left, but King authored a 9-0 run over the next four minutes, making it a 77-61 lead on a layup by Jackson with 4:11 to play.
 
"They got good looks. We did a poor job of taking away the three-point line," Schertz said. "That's something we've prided ourselves on in past years, but they got wide open looks. Our attention to detail was poor. On our end we got some pretty good looks, but we didn't make shots."
 
The Railsplitters' three starting guards, Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.), Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) and Steele, combined to go 7-for-29 from the field and 3-for-14 from three.
 
"If you combine poor defense and no toughness on the glass with your top three scorers having tough nights, you're not going to win. It's not where it needs to be and that falls on me. I've got to do a better job of instilling in these guys the toughness and competitiveness it takes to win at this level. It could be a bumpy ride early in the season until we get that resolved, but it's going to be on me and the guys to put it together."
 
The Railsplitters complete the SAC vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge on Saturday at noon when they square off against the Lees-McRae Bobcats at the Student Center Complex in Bristol, Tenn. Live stat and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.