NEWBERRY, S.C. -- Senior guard Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) carried a reputation as a deadly three-pointer shooter when he decided to transfer to Lincoln Memorial for his final college season. That was a reputation built during his prep tenure at nearby Fulton High School and reinforced over a three-year stay at Mississippi State. Though he was tied for the team lead with 25 made three-pointers through the team's first 10 games, LMU head coach Josh Schertz knew that an eruption was still in the works for the Knoxville, Tenn. native.
 
That moment arrived on Saturday afternoon, as Steele broke the Lincoln Memorial single-game record for made three-pointers and racked up 40 points to lead the 13th-ranked Railsplitters (10-1, 6-0 SAC) to a 115-94 victory over the Newberry Wolves (8-4, 3-3 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action at Eleazer Arena.
 
The win extended the Railsplitters' winning streak to 10 games, giving the program its 6th winning streak of 10 games or longer in the Schertz era.
 
Steele went 10-for-12 from three-point territory to become the first LMU men's basketball player to make double-digit three-pointers in a game, surpassing both David Hopper (twice in 1991) and Mark Mattson (1996) for the program's single-game record. Steele finished 13-for-15 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe while adding eight rebounds and three assists.
 
Steele fell just three triples shy of tying Tusculum's Bobby Ewing for the South Atlantic Conference record for made three-pointers, which he set back in 2004. Instead, Steele becomes only the fifth player in SAC history to make at least 10 threes in a game.
 
Behind their senior guard, the Railsplitters hit their most three-pointers in a game since 2007, connecting on 18 of 30 from long range. That is tied for the second-most in program history and trails only the 2006-07 squad that bagged 21 triples against North Greenville.
 
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) notched 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) scored 17 points with five three-pointers, and Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) contributed 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting to aide the Railsplitters' offensive explosion.  
 
The Railsplitters racked up the third-highest, single-game field goal percentage in program history by connecting on 65.7 percent (44-for-67) of their shot attempts. That marked Lincoln Memorial's highest shooting clip since they converted 69 percent of their shots against Hiwassee in 2009.
 
After falling behind 15-14 at the 15:09 mark of the first half on a triple by Amp Moore, the Railsplitters seized complete control of the game, pulling in front 35-21 on a jumper by Simmons at the 10:10 mark. Less than five minutes later, Lincoln Memorial would make it a 20-point lead at 47-27 on a three by Steele. The Railsplitters would end the hot-shooting first half with three-straight threes to carry a 67-46 lead into the break.
 
Thanks to a ridiculous 12-for-15 clip from three-point territory, the Railsplitters tallied their highest scoring half of the season and highest overall since a 72-point second half against Mars Hill on January 11, 2012. Lincoln Memorial shot 72.2 percent from the field and made 11 straight shots over a five-minute span that went from 13:02 to 8:03.
 
The Wolves made things interesting for a fleeting moment in the second half, closing the gap to seven points at 88-81 on a James Stepp three-bell with seven minutes to play.
 
But Steele hit back-to-back three-pointers followed by a triple from Choice to fuel a 9-0 run and push the lead back to 97-81 in the blink of an eye.
 
Newberry whittled the lead down to 99-86 at the 4:13 mark, but Choice buried a dagger three-pointer on the next LMU possession to essentially ice the game.
 
The Wolves finished shooting 39.8 percent (33-for-83) from the field, 38.7 percent (12-for-31) from the three and 84.2 percent (16-for-19) from the free throw line.
 
Seven different players hit double figures for Newberry, led by Xavier Holmes' 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting coupled with 11 rebounds. Brandon Taylor had 14 points and four assists, while Amp Moore collected 12 points. Ronell Crockett added 11 points with three steals.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters surpassed the century mark for the sixth time this season and poured in their most points against a SAC opponent since 2012…Newberry outrebounded Lincoln Memorial 39-38 with 16 offensive boards, which led to 11 second-chance points…The Railsplitters had 10 second-half turnovers and 16 in the game. Newberry scored 20 points off of those miscues…LMU improved to 14-6 all-time against Newberry and won at Eleazer Arena for the sixth straight time…Steele became the second Railsplitter to reach 40 points in a game this season, joining Simmons, who accomplished that feat against Carson-Newman. Prior to this season, no LMU player had scored 40 points in a game since D'Mario Curry in 2010.
 
Up Next
After briefly breaking for the holidays, the Railsplitters travel to Louisville, Ky. for the final nonconference test of the 2015-16 season, facing the 19th-ranked Bellarmine Knights on January 2. LMU and Bellarmine claim the second- and third-highest winning percentages in the NCAA Division II over the last five seasons combined.