HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Balanced scoring has been the calling card of Josh Schertz's system since he took over the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball program before the start of the 2008-09 season, but an individual performance the likes of which hasn't been seen at Tex Turner Arena in six seasons carried the 17th-ranked Railsplitters to victory on Tuesday night.
 
Senior guard Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) went 13-of-21 from the field, knocked down four three-pointers and scored a career-high 37 points to lead the Railsplitters (3-1, 1-0 SAC) past the Carson-Newman Eagles (2-3, 0-1 SAC) 98-82 in the South Atlantic Conference opener and the 200th all-time meeting between the two longtime rivals.
 
"Gerel was great. We couldn't get stops in the second half and we had to make plays," Schertz said. "Gerel just hit a bunch of shots, midrange and threes. As a team I thought we answered the bell when Carson-Newman kept coming back, which is the mark of a good team. Carson-Newman has an excellent team, but we were able to answer. Not only was Gerel fantastic offensively, but I thought he was great on defensively on Charles Clark, who is one of the best guards in our region."
 
Simmons was one of four starters to hit double figures for the Railsplitters, who tallied their most points against Carson-Newman since February 17, 2007, when they defeated the Eagles 120-118 in overtime. Simmons' brilliant offensive performance was the most prolific by an LMU player since three-time All-SAC forward D'Mario Curry racked up 41 points against Catawba on December 14, 2010.
 
Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) posted 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 21 foul-plagued minutes. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) finished with 10 points, four boards, three assists and two steals. Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) notched eight points and a team-leading 12 rebounds to help the Railsplitters win the battle of the boards 39-36.
 
The Railsplitters, who shot 51.5 percent from the field, went 10-for-26 from long range and knocked down 18 of 21 at the charity stripe, absolutely stonewalled the Carson-Newman offensive attack in the first half, limiting the Eagles to a dismal 9-for-28 effort (32.1 percent) and forcing eight turnovers through the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Simmons scored the last eight points of the half for the Railsplitters to send his team into the break with a commanding 49-26 advantage. It could have been much worse for Carson-Newman, though, as Sawyer Williams scored 16 of the Eagles' 26 points to keep the visiting team afloat.
 
"The first half we were outstanding. I thought we were alert and energetic," Schertz said. "The second half wasn't the same as previous second halves this season, when I thought our intensity waned. They were able to get to line and make a lot of plays and we had some breakdowns defensively. There were some things, but overall I thought our intensity was there. Carson-Newman is a really good team and every time they made a run, we answered. We were kind of able to get what we needed to get done and always make a play to answer what they did."
 
The Eagles made things interesting in the second half with an offensive outburst, but the Railsplitters were able to stiff-arm every push to maintain control of the game.
 
After a Simmons free throw increased LMU's lead to 61-41 at the 13:49 mark, Carson-Newman used a 20-10 run, capped by five straight points from Williams, to close the gap to 71-61 with 9:16 to play. But Simmons knocked down a jumper to stretch the lead back to 12 in the next possession. Williams converted two free throws to trim the deficit to 10 once again with 7:22 left, but an 8-3 spurt put the Railsplitters comfortably ahead at 83-68 with just under six minutes left. The Eagles would pull to within 11 on a Josh Rogers jumper with 5:10 left before a three-pointer from Choice and a Pinson jumper essentially iced the game.
 
The Eagles would never cut the lead to less than 13 points from that point on, but that didn't happen until Clark rolled in a lay-up with 48 seconds to play with the final outcome already decided.
 
"That's why they are a great team. They keep coming and they are relentless and we had to punch back every time," Schertz said. "And fortunately we were able to do that offensively. We will go back and try to clean up some of the defensive stuff now."
 
Carson-Newman ended up shooting 55.6 percent in the second half and scoring 56 points over that span. The Eagles finished the game with a 45.3 percent mark (29-64) from the field, a 38.5 percent clip (5-13) from three and a 73.1 percent (19-26) effort at the free throw line.
 
Williams led the Eagles with 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting and a 13-for-18 mark at the free throw line coupled with 12 rebounds. Charles Clark was limited to 12 points - nearly 13 points below his average - with five turnovers, while Zack Pangallo had 12 points with three three-pointers off of the bench. Carson Brooks, who scored 20 points in the Eagles' win in Tex Turner last season, was held to 11 points, six of which he scored in the final six minutes.
 
The Railsplitters assisted on 16 of their 35 field goals and tallied 40 points in the paint. Lincoln Memorial also converted 12 Carson-Newman turnovers into 12 points.
 
Quick Hits
Lincoln Memorial drew the all-time series against Carson-Newman even at 100-100 with the win on Tuesday night while also avenging a pair of losses to Eagles last season, including a 63-48 loss in the SAC Championship title game...Simmons' eclipsed his previous career-high in an LMU jersey by 11 points as he scored 26 points against Wingate on January 10, 2015...The Railsplitters hit double-digit three-pointers for the second time this season and nearly matched their 11-for-25 effort against Lees-McRae...Lincoln Memorial led Carson-Newman wire to wire and faced only one tie, and that came 1:08 into the game when a basket by Williams knotted it a 2-2
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters host the Virginia-Wise Cavaliers for a nonconference tilt at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 28. Carson-Newman doesn't return to action until December 2, when they host Clayton State.