ROME, Ga. – The No. 4 Railsplitters will face the Shorter Hawks for the second time in four days when the two teams collide at the Winthrop-King Centre in Rome, Ga. on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
 
Lincoln Memorial (3-0) kept Shorter (0-4) winless and opened Tex Turner Arena with an 88-64 win over the Hawks on Saturday afternoon, but the 24-point final margin was not indicative of the game as a whole.
 
The Railsplitters started blazing hot and raced out to a 23-8 lead just over five minutes into the game, but Shorter overcame that shaky start and shot 53 percent in the first half to trim the deficit to 44-39 at the break.
 
The Hawks then took their only lead of the game early in the second half, jumping ahead 45-44 on a pair of TayVaughn Major free throws. But the Railsplitters took over after that with a 15-0 run that sparked a 44-19 closing run.
 
"We knew that they are a team that really grinds on you, they fight back and don't go away," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said after the Railsplitters' 24-point win. "They did a great job of spreading us and driving us. We did a poor job guarding the ball and being connected offensively."
 
Lincoln Memorial turned it around in a big way in the second half and held Shorter to 23 percent shooting, including a dreadful 1-for-14 effort from three-point territory. The Railsplitters finished the game shooting just over 56 percent from the field.
 
Four players scored in double figures for the Railsplitters, led by Trevon Shaw's 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Emanuel Terry added 19 points, nine rebounds and a pair of assists, while Dorian Pinson had 12 points, nine rebounds and sevens assists. Cornelius Taylor also chipped in 12 points with six assists and four rebounds.
 
The short-handed Hawks were paced by 42 combined points between Major and Josh Burnett. Major scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Burnett pitched in 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting. That duo also accounted for 14 of the team's 32 rebounds. Amonte Parker added 13 points on a 4-for-12 effort from the field.
 
Shaw and Terry look to continue their fast starts when Lincoln Memorial and Shorter meet again on Tuesday night. Shaw has scored double figures in all three games this season and, including his 34-point outburst against King, has hit 15 of his last 29 three-point attempts. Terry, meanwhile, is averaging 18.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per game on 73.5 percent shooting through his first three appearances. Shaw currently leads the SAC in scoring with 23 points per game, while Terry leads the league in rebounding.
 
The Railsplitters will be looking to reach 4-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season while trying to hit that mark for the sixth time in 10 seasons under head coach Josh Schertz. On the other end of the spectrum, Shorter will be trying to avoid its first 0-5 start since the 2006-07 season.
 
Lincoln Memorial has won all three of its games this season by a minimum of 20 points, a start that features a 100-80 win over Lees-McRae, a 94-60 whitewashing of King and Saturday's 88-64 win over Shorter. The Railsplitters lead the SAC in points per game, field goals made per game and rebounding margin while ranking second in field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game.  
 
On the other side, the Hawks' closest game was decided by three points in a 73-70 loss against Spring Hill. That final score was a little deceptive, though, as Shorter hit back-to-back three-pointers with three seconds left to make it appear closer than it was. The Hawks have lost every other game by at least eight points.
 
The Railsplitters will try to impose their will on the backboards in the second go around against Shorter. The Hawks entered Saturday's contest with a minus-25 rebounding margin through their first three games but were outrebounded just 39-32 against a much bigger Lincoln Memorial squad. The Hawks also outrebounded the Railsplitters 16-14 in the first half.
 
Like Shaw and Terry, Pinson and Taylor have also reached double-figure points in all three games this season. Pinson is averaging 14 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, while Taylor is putting up 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per.
 
Tip off in the home opener for Shorter is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and video links are available at www.lmurailsplitters.com.