HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The seventh-ranked Railsplitters (18-2, 14-0 SAC) put forth a lockdown second-half defensive effort to overcome an 18-point deficit and defeat the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (12-6, 7-6 SAC) 86-75 in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action on Saturday afternoon at Tex Turner Arena.
 
"They punched us in the mouth early," LMU head men's basketball coach Josh Schertz said. "They were certainly the more aggressive team and whipped us in transition. We had some shooting turnovers that led to runouts and unbalanced floors and they made us pay. We made some changes from a matchup standpoint, shifted some guys around and played small for most of the game. I thought our guys showed incredible mental toughness to bounce back from that, keep fighting and keep playing."
 
Five players hit double figures for Lincoln Memorial, led by Gerel Simmons' (Accokeek, Md.) 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting coupled with four rebounds. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks, while Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) had 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point territory. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted 13 points and four boards, and Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) notched 11 points in 21 minutes off of the bench. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) was limited to three points in 13 minutes, but he blocked a season-high five shots.
 
A combination of Lenoir-Rhyne's hot shooting and the Railsplitters' sloppy play forced Lincoln Memorial to dig out of a massive first-half hole.
 
The Bears led for the entire first half, but a bucket by Pinson pulled the Railsplitters within one point at 12-11 with 14:42 left in the frame. However, Lenoir-Rhyne would connect on six of its next seven shots and hold LMU to a 0-for-7 clip to fuel a 15-0 run, grabbing a 27-11 lead on a triple by Reed Lucas at the 11:17 mark. Back-to-back baskets from Steele and Pinson closed the gap to 12 points, but a free throw by Rob Noyes at the 5:53 mark gave Lenoir-Rhyne its largest lead of the game at 39-21.
 
The Railsplitters stabilized themselves over the remaining five and a half minutes of the half, holding L-R to 3-for-10 shooting while knocking down six of their nine shots over that stretch to cut the halftime deficit to 45-38. Pinson scored seven of those 17 points, including a stretch of five-straight points.
 
Despite that lull in the final minutes of the half, the Bears shot 55.9 percent through the game's first 20 minutes.
 
"We felt really fortunate to be down by just seven points, because they really controlled the half," Schertz said. "I told the guys that as badly as we played, with turnovers, bad shot selection and poor defense, we were still in the game. But we had to come out in the second half and establish a defensive presence."
 
The Railsplitters did just that, holding the Bears without a second-half field goal until Lucas rolled in a layup at the 15:37 mark. That bucket kept Lenoir-Rhyne ahead by three points, but Choice banged in a three-pointer two minutes later to give Lincoln Memorial its first lead of the game at 49-47.
 
The Bears answered back with a mini spurt, grabbing a 55-52 lead with 10:51 left on a jumper from Keenan Palmore. However, the Railsplitters ripped off a 10-0 run over the next two minutes and pulled ahead 62-55 on McMillion's old-fashioned three-point play at 8:34.
 
Two Lenoir-Rhyne free throws followed by a jumper trimmed LMU's lead to 62-59, but the Railsplitters would go on a 15-4 run over the next passage of play and grab a 77-63 lead on a pair of free throws by Choice. From that moment on, the Railsplitters' lead wouldn't dip below 10 points until Palmore cut it to 84-75 on a jumper with 24 seconds left.
 
The Railsplitters limited Lenoir-Rhyne to 11-for-32 shooting (34.4 percent) in the second half, including a 0-for-5 effort from three-point range. All told, Lincoln Memorial outscored the Bears 65-36 over the game's final 25:23.
 
A huge key to the game was Pinson's defensive effort on Lenoir-Rhyne's standout point guard Keenan Palmore. Palmore finished with a game-high 31 points, but he required 26 shots to reach that mark. Pinson didn't start the game guarding Palmore but was switched on to him after the Bears' hot start, holding the Old Dominion transfer to 8-for-17 shooting in the second half.
 
"The thing that will stand out to me always about this game is the job Dorian did on (Keenan) Palmore, for him to be able to go out, guard a point guard and move his feet," Schertz said. "Palmore was the key early. He's a unique matchup because he's a point guard that's built like a post player."
 
LMU had a rare off-night from the three, shooting 35 percent (6-for-17), but the Railsplitters finished shooting 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field with a 24-for-30 mark (80 percent) at the charity stripe. The Railsplitters hit 13 of their 21 second-half shot attempts for a 61.9 percent mark.
 
"Obviously, when you're down 18 points you have to play great defense, but you also have to score. And we were able to do that."
 
Along with Palmore, Lucas scored 18 points with four three-pointers for Lenoir-Rhyne, while Will Perry had 14 points and eight rebounds. Rob Noyes added 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters defeated Lenoir-Rhyne for the 12th straight time and improved to 15-8 in the all-time series...LMU narrowly won the rebounding battle 34-30, but matched a season-high with 18 turnovers...Despite seeing only seven guys get playing time, the Railsplitters' bench outscored Lenoir-Rhyne's second unit 15-0...The Railsplitters trailed for over 71 percent of the game...The Railsplitters accounted for a 13-point disparity at the free-throw line, where Lenoir-Rhyne was just 11-for-15...LMU matched the 2010-11 and 2014-15 teams for the longest SAC winning streak in program history
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters will look to become the first-ever SAC program to start 15-0 in league play on Wednesday, February 3, when they welcome Brevard to Tex Turner Arena for an 8 p.m. tip. LMU has won 10 straight against the Tornados, who they beat 88-67 earlier this season.