HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Just three days removed from arguably the most dramatic win in program history, there were no dramatics for Lincoln Memorial on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.
 
The 15th-ranked Railsplitters (6-1, 3-0 SAC) held the visiting Coker Cobras (4-2, 0-2 SAC) to 5-for-32 shooting in the first half and authored a 19-0 run to fuel their sixth-straight win and improve to 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference play with a 72-58 victory.
 
Lincoln Memorial limited Coker to a mere 29 percent shooting (18-for-62) in the contest, which included a dreadful 15.6 percent clip in the opening half.
 
"I thought defensively we were locked in," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said. "We did a great job on ball-screen defense as well as contesting and challenging shots. I thought the first half especially was about as clean as you can be defensively."
 
With three rotation players forced to sit out Saturday's game due to various ailments, the Railsplitters had to rely on their depth to push past the scrappy Cobras. LMU's bench play was essentially the difference, as the Railsplitters' second unit outscored Coker 34-18.
 
Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) led the way for Lincoln Memorial with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting coupled with eight rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes off of the bench. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) played all 40 minutes and contributed 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. Hunter Spaw (Bean Station, Tenn.) scored 11 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting with three three-pointers. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) was plagued by foul trouble, but finished with eight points and a season-high 13 rebounds in a mere 16 minutes.
 
Coach Schertz went to his bench early in the contest after a sluggish start, which included five turnovers in the first three minutes, and starting guard Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) drew two quick fouls. But Spaw contributed early and often once his number was called, scoring all 11 of his points and playing a key role in what would turn out to be a decisive stretch of basketball for the Railsplitters.
 
"Hunter was a huge spark for us," Schertz said. "He came in and knocked down shots, got to rim a, rebounded and defended well. It was a night where we had to dig deep and Hunter was outstanding." 
 
A jumper by Jalen Watson knotted the contest at 7-7 four minutes into the game, but Coker would not make another field goal until Jake Barrett knocked down a three-pointer with 7:10 left in the first half, which ended an 0-for-12 drought for the Cobras.
 
But before that, the Railsplitters had ripped off a 19-0 run behind two three-pointers and another basket from Spaw to build a commanding 26-7 lead. The Cobras got back in the scoring column thanks to two Trey Marshall free throws at the 9:35 mark, but Lincoln Memorial extended the lead to 29-9 following a jumper by Terry and a free throw from Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.).
 
Coker would trim the deficit to 15 points late in the first half before another Spaw three-pointer and two free throws by Choice sent the Railsplitters into the halftime break with a commanding 40-20 lead.
 
The Cobras pulled back to within 15 on an Aubrey Daniels bucket with 15:28 to play, however, Lincoln Memorial scored 10 unanswered points over the next four minutes to race out its largest lead of the game at 56-31. The Railsplitters never led by less than 14 points following that stretch, but Coker didn't close the gap that low until Barrett hit a three-pointer with just 18 seconds left in regulation.
 
Continuing an alarming trend, the Railsplitters were once again outplayed in the second half as Coker outscored Lincoln Memorial 38-32, shot 43.3 percent from the field, went 3-for-4 from three and converted nine of its 12 free throw attempts over the final 20 minutes. Over the course of the season's first six games, the Railsplitters have outscored their opponents by a combined 140 points in the first half but have been outscored by 20 total points in the second half.
 
The Cobras, who were without leading scorer Donte Samuels (19.4 points per game), were paced by Barrett's 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Watson added 13 points and matched Trey James for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Jalal Abdul-Azeez notched 10 points with a pair of three-pointers.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters committed a season-high 18 turnovers, which were converted into 15 points for the Cobras...Lincoln Memorial led wire to wire as Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) opened the game with a three-point play - the game was tied on only two occasions after that...The Railsplitters improved to 5-0 all-time against the Cobras, who fell to 0-2 in SAC play in defeat...The Railsplitters outrebounded the Cobras 48-35 and grabbed 15 offensive boards, led by McMillion's six offensive rebounds...LMU assisted on 15 of their 25 made field goals - Simmons and Choice combined for 10 of those 15 helpers
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters break from South Atlantic Conference play to host Bluefield (Va.) at 7:30 on Wednesday, December 9 in the first meeting between the two programs since 1994. Coker hosts Queens in SAC action on Wednesday in Hartsville, S.C.