GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- Five players hit double figures to help the fourth-ranked Railsplitters (21-2, 17-0 SAC) grind out a hard-fought 103-92 victory over the Tusculum Pioneers (10-12, 6-11 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday night.
 
Lincoln Memorial led by as many as 15 points and never trailed over the game's final 35 minutes, but Tusculum used a steady stream of small runs and timely three-point shooting to stay within striking distance until the Railsplitters ultimately pulled off their 11th straight win overall and 17th consecutive win in the series.
 
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) tallied his third 30-point performance of the season and led all scorers with 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting, which he paired with five assists and three boards. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) posted 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, while Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) racked up 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) contributed 13 points apiece. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
 
The Railsplitters shot 52.3 percent (34-for-65) from the floor, 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from three-point range and 79.4 percent (27-for-34) at the free-throw line to break the 100-point threshold for the 11th time this season. Lincoln Memorial's 34 trips to the charity stripe are the second most of the season behind a 35 free-throw performance in the four-overtime thriller at Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
A layup by Zach Davis drew the game even at 12-12 with 13:38 left in the opening half, but back-to-back triples from Steele and Simmons capped a brief 8-0 run and put the Railsplitters ahead 20-12 a little over two minutes later. Lincoln Memorial's lead would balloon to 10 points at 27-17 following two free throws by Steele at the 9:44 mark.
 
Tusculum didn't let the game get away early, though, as the Pioneers responded with a 15-7 spurt and closed the gap to 34-32 on a jumper by Javon Price with 5:23 left in the half.
 
Led by Simmons, the Railsplitters would go on to dominate the final minutes of the first half, closing on a 13-4 run to carry a 47-36 lead into the locker room. Simmons scored eight points for Lincoln Memorial over that span to cap his 22-point first half.
 
The Railsplitters kicked off the second half with a flurry, as a three-point play by Pinson followed by Choice layup opened up the largest lead of the game, a 55-40 advantage with 17:36 left.
 
Lincoln Memorial maintained a double-digit lead over the ensuing passage of play, but a pair of three-pointers by Price pulled the Pioneers within five points at 64-59 by the 12-minute mark.
 
The Railsplitters were able to stiff-arm Tusculum once again, though, as a Choice three-pointer and a Steele layup bookended a 10-4 spurt that increased the visiting team's lead to 74-63 with 10 minutes to go.
 
Tusculum trimmed the lead back to single digits once more on a dunk by Price, which made it a 74-67 game with 8:46 to play. But the Railsplitters would go on a quick 8-1 run to increase the lead to 82-68 with a hair over seven minutes to go.
 
The game seemed out of reach when Simmons hit two free throws to put the Railsplitters ahead 89-74 with 3:20 showing on the clock. However, a bunch of free throws and a three by Price brought the Pioneers within eight points at 94-86 with 52 seconds left.
 
Despite two more late Pioneer three-pointers, that was as close as the score would get, as the Railsplitters finished off the 103-92 victory at the charity stripe.
 
Tusculum went 30-for-72 from the field for a 41.7 percent clip and buried 12 three-pointers on 27 tries for a 44.4 percent mark. The Pioneers were also productive at the free-throw line, where they went 20-for-25 for an 80 percent rate.
 
Price went 11-for-15 from the field and 6-for-9 from deep to lead the Pioneers with 30 points. Darius Carter and Zach Davis added 17 points apiece, but that duo went a combined 10-for-30 from the floor. The Railsplitters mostly held Tusculum's second-leading scorer and double-double machine Chase Mounce in check, as the big man finished with nine points and eight boards before fouling out.
 
Quick Hits
Lincoln Memorial improved to 127-42 all-time against Tusculum and defeated the Pioneers for the 17th straight time. The Railsplitters are 18-1 against Tusculum under head coach Josh Schertz…The two teams finished with 41 rebounds and 14 second-chance points apiece…Terry's 13 rebounds ties a career-high that he first recorded against Coker in December…Simmons last hit 30 points at Mars Hill on January 6. He has now scored double figures in 15 straight games.
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters return to Tex Turner Arena on Saturday, February 13 to host the red-hot Newberry Wolves at 4 p.m. Newberry won its fourth straight game on Wednesday by defeating Catawba. Lincoln Memorial will be looking to complete the season sweep after beating the Wolves 115-94 back on December 19.