HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The fourth-ranked Railsplitters (23-2, 19-0 SAC) overcame an uncharacteristically sluggish start to defeat the Mars Hill Lions (9-16, 5-14 SAC) 95-72 and capture their 13th consecutive win on Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
 
A combination of Mars Hill's hot shooting and Lincoln Memorial's lack of urgency on defense landed the Railsplitters in a nine-point deficit midway through the first half. But the home team powered through that behind another dazzling three-point shooting display and an increased defensive effort over the final 30 minutes.
 
"We lacked focus and effort for the first 10 or 12 minutes," LMU head men's basketball coach Josh Schertz said. "Mars Hill was playing much harder than we were. We didn't get back on defense, gave up transition baskets and didn't execute offensively. Our poor shot selection early compromised our defense and led to a lot of run outs."
 
The Lions scored 32 points and hit 13 of their first 18 shots in the game's first 10 minutes. But over the final 30 minutes, the Railsplitters limited Mars Hill to a mere 40 points and 14-for-57 shooting. Mars Hill shot 48.6 percent in the opening half, but finished with a dismal 23.7 percent mark in the second half, which included an 0-for-8 effort from deep.
 
"As the game wore on and we tightened the screws, we were much better about flying around and challenging plays," Schertz said. "We rotated better and did a good job of taking them off the three-point line. We did all the things you've got to do to be a good defensive team for the last 30 minutes."
 
Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) led the Railsplitters with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting paired with four rebounds and two assists. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished 7-for-17 from the floor and 6-of-16 from three, but produced 22 points and five rebounds. Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) - the reigning SAC Player of the Week - tallied a double-double with 18 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and four assists. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) also produced a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, which he paired with four blocks. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) finished in triple-double territory yet again with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
 
Mars Hill connected on nine of its first 12 shots attempts and grabbed a 21-13 lead on a jumper by Tyree Griffin at the 13:47 mark of the opening half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Steele brought the Railsplitters to within four points at 27-23 with 10:32 to go in the half, but a Justin Yeargin triple followed by a Jalen Witherspoon jumper gave the Lions their largest lead of the game at 32-23 with a hair under 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
 
The next eight minutes would see the Railsplitters respond, as Lincoln Memorial used a 5-for-6 effort from three-point range to fuel a 27-8 run over the next eight minutes. Choice ended that flurry and buried the Railsplitters' 10th three-pointer of the half at the 2:12 mark to put the home team ahead 50-40. After Mars Hill trimmed the deficit back to eight points, the Railsplitters ended the half on a 7-3 run to carry a 57-45 lead into the break.
 
The Railsplitters shot 46.2 percent while going 10-for-19 from three-point range and 11-for-11 at the free-throw line in the opening half. 
 
"Once we got down nine and realized that this wasn't a friendly exhibition, that is was a real game, we started to play with more energy and focus and our defense tightened up," Schertz said. "We were able to get stops and that got us out in transition, where we were able to move the ball and get uncontested looks."
 
The Railsplitters' lead would hover in the eight to 10-point range early in the second half before a 19-4 spurt, capped by a Terry layup at the 13:24 mark, gave Lincoln Memorial a commanding 78-55 advantage. From that point on, Lincoln Memorial would never lead by less than 19 points, while the Railsplitters jumped out to as large as a 26-point lead at 95-69 on a free throw from Devin Hankins (Huntsville, Ala.) with 3:03 left.
 
The Railsplitters held the Lions to 23 percent shooting in the second half, but it was a forgettable half offensively for the home team, who shot 39.5 percent over the final 20 minutes with a 3-for-13 mark from three-point range.
 
Lincoln Memorial finished shooting 43 percent (33-for-77) from the field and 40.6 percent (13-for-32) from three-point range, while Mars Hill shot 36 percent (27-for-75) from the floor and 19 percent (4-for-21) from three.
 
Yeargin paced the Lions with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists. Griffin had 15 points on a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the field and 3-for-3 clip at the charity stripe. Michael Carson and Patrick Monroe had seven points apiece.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters sweep the season series from the Lions to improve to 30-9 all-time against Mars Hill, winning the 14th straight game in the series...Lincoln Memorial outrebounded the Lions 53-43 and scored 17 second-chance points off of 12 offensive boards...The Railsplitters hit double-digit threes for the third time in the last four games...Lincoln Memorial assisted on 19 of its 33 field goals...Simmons, Steele and Choice combined to score 65 points...After his eight-block performance against Newberry, Terry has 12 blocks combined in his last two games...The Railsplitters won their 26th straight South Atlantic Conference game dating back to last season
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters head to Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday for a highly-anticipated showdown with the No. 6 nationally-ranked Queens Royals. Lincoln Memorial and Queens have a combined 22-game winning streak with both teams sitting at 23-2 on the season. That game tips off at 4 p.m.