HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The fifth-ranked Railsplitters (19-2, 15-0 SAC) used a 45-6 onslaught that carried over from the end of the first half until deep into the second half to power past the Brevard Tornados (3-17, 2-12 SAC) 88-55 at Tex Turner Arena on Wednesday night.
 
The win gives Lincoln Memorial both the best SAC start and the longest SAC winning streak in league history, as the Railsplitters surpassed both its 2010-11 and 2014-15 teams to claim that distinction. The victory also marked the Railsplitters' 250th all-time win at Tex Turner Arena, and coincidentally it came on a night when Lincoln Memorial celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first game ever played within the friendly confines. Head coach Josh Schertz is now responsible for 109 of those wins in his seven and a half seasons. 
 
"Defense fueled everything," Schertz said. "We did a great job of scouting report defense guarding the Princeton. You go into a game like this and it really taxes your intelligence and your ability to be solid, but we did a good job of not getting back cut and taking away the three-point line to force them into long twos. And we did a great job of rebounding the ball during that run, which allowed us to play fast and create some spacing."
 
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) was one of five players to score double figures for the Railsplitters, leading the way with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting coupled with five rebounds. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 14 points and five assists, while Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) piled up 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) accounted for 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while going 2-for-2 from deep. Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
The Railsplitters dominated the defensive end of the court from the moment the ball was tipped, holding the Tornados to 34 percent shooting including a 4-for-19 mark (21.1 percent) from three-point territory. But Lincoln Memorial's ball-hawking defense was most clearly on display over a 13-minute minute stretch that bridged the first and second half and buried the Tornados in a deficit from which they couldn't recover.
 
Lincoln Memorial struggled to get any separation from Brevard in the first half, as D.J. Bostick knocked down a jumper to trim the Railsplitters' lead to 31-25 with 1:14 left in the frame. However, a tip-in by Terry followed by a Steele triple sent the Railsplitters into the break with a 36-25 lead.
 
That was only the beginning of an absurd stretch of basketball for the home team, as the Railsplitters opened the second half on a 15-0 run, sparked by back-to-back dunks from Terry, to take a 51-25 lead with 16:37 to go. The Tornados scored their first point of the half at the 16-minute mark on a free throw by Miles Leathers, but LMU would score 10 more unanswered points after that to increase the lead to 61-27 on yet another dunk by Terry with 13:51 remaining. Leather knocked down two free throws to stop the bleeding again, but the Railsplitters would build the cushion to 76-31 on a free throw by Nicksen Blanc (Port Charlotte, Fla.) at 8:27.
 
When it was all said and done, the Railsplitters outscored the Tornados 45-6 over that 13-minute span, limiting Brevard to 1-for-13 shooting and a 0-for-7 mark from three-point range with eight turnovers during that stretch.
 
"We had trouble getting into the lane and getting downhill in the first half, but we did a great job of attacking that matchup zone in the second half," Schertz said.
 
Terry accounted for eight of his 14 points in the second half and played a huge role in that second-half surge by slamming home two dunks in less than 25 seconds. The Enterprise, Ala. native matched his season-high for points and notched double figures for the first time since January 9.
 
"Emanuel was definitely the sparkplug in the second half," Schertz said. "He really energized us and the crowd. Hopefully that's the start for Emanuel. He missed a lot of the first semester with injury, but hopefully he's getting his footing as we get to February and he can elevate from here."
 
The Railsplitters finished shooting 55 percent (33-for-60) from the field with a 9-for-25 mark (36 percent) from long range. Lincoln Memorial went 13-for-24 (54.2 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
"It was a good team win," Schertz said. "It's nice to know that on a night when Luquon (Choice) gets two points, we score 88 and other guys step up."
 
Demarcus Threatt led the Tornados with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while Leathers produced 11 points and nine rebounds. Stevie Williams was the final Brevard player in double figures with 10 points.
 
Quick Hits
The Railsplitters dominated the backboards, outrebounding the Tornados 45-27. Lincoln Memorial grabbed 15 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second-chance points...LMU's bench outscored Brevard's second unit 27-9....The Railsplitters doubled up the Tornados in the paint 44-22...Lincoln Memorial defeated Brevard for the 11th straight time and improves to 18-3 in the all-time series
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters travel to Wingate, N.C. on Saturday, February 6 to take on the Wingate Bulldogs at 4 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. Lincoln Memorial beat the Bulldogs 103-57 in the first meeting this season back at Tex Turner on December 16.