GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- The fifth-ranked Railsplitters (22-1, 16-1 SAC) displayed a balanced offensive attack and outscored the Tusculum Pioneers (4-18, 4-14 SAC) by 16 points in the second half to pace an 88-69 win in Greeneville, Tenn. on Wednesday night.
 
Lincoln Memorial was assured at least a share of the program's third consecutive South Atlantic Conference regular season title and fourth in the past five seasons in the wake of Wednesday's results. The Railsplitters entered the night with a four-game cushion league, but their win and Queens' loss at Wingate stretched the gap to five with five games left. The next LMU win will clinch the outright SAC title.
 
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) led a group of five players in double figures for the Railsplitters, matching a game-high with 17 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Simmons went 5-for-10 from the field and buried four three-pointers. Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) collected 15 points apiece. Ross also posted five rebounds and four assists, while Webb grabbed four rebounds. Both Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) and Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, as McMillion earned his second double-double of the season, while Peterson posted his fifth such game.
 
Those five guys picked up leading scorer Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.), who struggled from the field by going 3-for-11 with eight points.
 
The Railsplitters finished shooting 46.5 percent (33-for-71) from the field, 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from three and 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from the free throw line. The visiting unit dominated the painted area, amassing a 48-29 rebounding edge and outscoring the Pioneers 50-24 in the interior. The Railsplitters blocked seven shots - Peterson led in that department with three stonewalls.
 
Despite flourishing on offense in the first half, going 16-for-30 for a 53.3 percent mark, the Railsplitters' defense was carved up by the Pioneers. Tusculum shot 53.6 percent in the opening frame and buried five three-pointers to keep within striking distance.
 
The Railsplitters took a 19-13 lead on a Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) bucket at 13:37, but a Chase Mounce layup and back-to-back triples by Javon Price and Cory Fagan evened the game at 21-21 by the 11-minute mark. The Pioneers took a 27-23 lead on a Zach Davis bucket at 7:44, and Tusculum retained a four-point edge as late as the 4:45 mark of the stanza following a Price jumper. Instant offense came in the form of Gerel Simmons, who pulled the Railsplitters out of their funk by scoring eight points in a 14-7 closing run that sent Lincoln Memorial into the locker room with a 41-38 edge.
 
Everything changed in the second half, though, as the Railsplitters turned up the defensive intensity, limiting the Pioneers to just 34.5 percent (10-for-29) shooting in the frame. Tusculum hit a single three-pointer and accounted for 10 of its 31 second-half points at the free throw line.
 
The Railsplitters scored the first six points of the second half to extend the lead to 47-38 with 18:09 left. Matt Shown ended that flurry with a layup, but three free throws gave Lincoln Memorial a 10-point cushion. Shown drained two freebies to pull the Pioneers to within seven at 57-50 with 14 minutes to play, but a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Webb triple, gave the Railsplitters a 64-50 lead at 11:43.
 
Lincoln Memorial never looked back from that point on. By the 6:25 mark, the Railsplitters had built the lead to 19 points on a Simmons three-pointer and a free throw by Ross. The lead got as high as 21 points as a Pinson layup with 4:48 left put the Railsplitters in front 82-61.
 
All told, the Railsplitters outscored the Pioneers 47-31 in the second half alone. That trend is nothing new for Lincoln Memorial, who has outscored its opponents by 235 cumulative points in the second half this season.
 
The Railsplitters defeated Tusculum for the 15th straight time, perpetuating a streak that dates back to a 67-52 win on January 6, 2010. 
 
Tusculum finished shooting 43.9 percent (25-for-57) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from three and 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the free throw line. Matt Shown paced the Pioneers with 17 points and six rebounds, while Chase Mounce notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Javon Price collected 13 points and hit three threes, and Cory Fagan notched 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
 
The Pioneers' starting lineup accounted for 60 of the team's 69 points. LMU's bench produced 30 points, led by Simmons's 17-point outburst.
 
In victory, seniors Keenan Peterson, Lorenza Ross and C.J. Wakeley (Alachua, Fla.) became the second-winningest players in school and South Atlantic Conference history. That trio improved to 101-16 in its tenure in the Blue and Gray, trailing Vincent Bailey and Chance Jones's 106 wins for the most in school and league history.
 
The Railsplitters will try to clinch the outright SAC regular season title on Saturday, returning to Tex Turner Arena to host Lenoir-Rhyne for a 4 p.m. tip.