NEWBERRY, S.C. – The 16th-ranked Railsplitters (20-4, 15-3 SAC) rallied from a 23-point deficit to defeat the hot-shooting Newberry Wolves (14-10, 9-9 SAC) 92-85 on Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena. The victory pushed Lincoln Memorial's winning streak to 10 games and gave the program its eighth consecutive 20-win season, while Newbery saw its two-game winning streak snapped to fall back to .500 in South Atlantic Conference play.
 
In an absolutely wild game, the Wolves, who were looking to sweep the regular-season series from the Railsplitters after pulling out a 107-102 win at Tex Turner Arena in mid-December, made nine of their first 14 three-point tries to race out to a commanding 23-point lead. But Lincoln Memorial eventually shook to life, closed the first half on a strong note and completed its comeback for the ages late in regulation.
 
"Our players showed a competitive character today that I hold in really high esteem, because that's what you want to see when you find yourself in that position," said LMU head coach Josh Schertz. "I thought we showed a great will to win against a terrific team in a very hostile environment. Credit Coach Davis and his team; that was as well as anyone has played us all year on both ends of the floor for most of the game. I'm very proud of how we responded and competed the entire 40 minutes."
 
From an offensive perspective, senior Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) almost single-handedly carried the Railsplitters past the Wolves. He scored a game-high 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting and a 7-for-13 mark from three-point range while adding four assists, four steals and two rebounds. It was his second 30-point game in his last three appearances, as he tallied 36 against Wingate last Saturday.
 
Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.) was also outstanding, scoring 22 points on a 4-for-7 mark from three. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) matched a career-high mark with 15 rebounds to go along with 11 points and three blocks, including a crucial one late in regulation, in 29 minutes off the bench. Cornelius Taylor (Claxton, Ga.) and Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.), who returned after missing the past four games due to injury, chipped in nine points apiece.
 
Lincoln Memorial shot 54 percent in the game (61.3 percent in the second half), finished 12-for-29 from three-point range and went 12-for-16 at the charity stripe, and that was barely enough to get past the Wolves. Newberry shot 47.6 percent from the floor and buried 15 three-pointers on 32 attempts. The Wolves were on pace to break the SAC single-game record for threes at the half after going 12-for-22 in the first, but they cooled off and went just 3-for-10 in the second.
 
The Railsplitters were ice-cold at the onset, making just three of their first 13 shots. By contrast, Newberry connected on 10 of its first 15, including 7-for-11 from three to race out to a 27-9 lead with 10:48 left in the first. The Wolves' lead continued to swell later in the half, as a triple by Mason Spease made it 32-11 in favor of the home team with 9:19 left. Five straight points from DJ Copeland gave Newberry its largest lead of the game at 37-14 at the 7:45 mark.
 
Choice heated up over the next stretch and scored all eight points during an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 37-22, but back-to-back three-pointers from Quaman Burton and Marshall Lange pushed the Wolves back in front by 21 points with 6:08 left.
 
The Railsplitters finally started moving things in the right direction for good after that, closing the first half on a 17-3 run to trail 46-39 at the break. Shaw kicked off that flurry with two straight three-pointers, while Choice finished it off with a three with 37 seconds left to compete his 16-point half.
 
Despite Lincoln Memorial's best efforts, Newberry maintained a firm grasp on the lead early in the second half. The Railsplitters whittled the lead down to six on a jumper from Shaw with 16:31 left, but the Wolves held steady and built the cushion back to 69-55 on an old-fashioned three-point play from Lamell Washington with 11:55 remaining in regulation.
 
The Railsplitters would steadily chip away at Newberry's lead from there, cutting it to six points (76-70) following a pair of free throws from Taylor at the 7:30 mark. Less than two minutes later, Shaw drained a three-pointer to close the gap to 79-75. Finally, with 2:31 left, Choice knocked down two free throws to give the Railsplitters their first lead of the game at 84-83.
 
Lincoln Memorial never trailed after that, but the biggest sequence of the game happened after the Wolves made it an 86-85 game following two free throws. An LMU turnover on the ensuing possession gave Newberry a chance to take the lead. Washington had a good look from inside the paint, but Terry swatted away his layup attempt and sparked a runout for the Railsplitters. Shaw scored through contact on the other end to extend LMU's lead to three, a four-point turnaround in favor of the visitors.
 
Terry put the game on ice 20 seconds later with a dunk, which made it 90-85 with 14 seconds to go.
 
Five players scored in double figures for the Wolves. Washington led that group with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting, while James Stepp had 20 points on a 5-for-9 mark. Spease (12), Copeland (10) and Burton (10) also finished with double-digit points.
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters make their second-to-last road trip of the regular season by paying a visit to the Mars Hill Lions for an 8 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday. Lincoln Memorial will be looking to complete the season sweep against Mars Hill, who they trounced 93-64 at Tex Turner Arena on January 4.
 
Quick Hits
-The Railsplitters found a way to win despite getting a season-low three points from Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) in 11 minutes of work. He did contribute six rebounds, but also finished with five turnovers.
-Newberry led for over 36 minutes, while the Railsplitters led for just two minutes and 30 seconds. Lincoln Memorial didn't acquire its first lead until the 2:31 mark of the second half.
-The Wolves have combined for 35 three-pointers in two games against Lincoln Memorial. They hit 20 – one shy of the SAC record – in the first meeting this season.
-The Railsplitters outrebounded Newberry 37-28 and grabbed 10 offensive boards. No Newberry player finished with more than five rebounds.
-Lincoln Memorial committed 24 turnovers that resulted in 25 Newberry points. However, the Railsplitters forced 20 turnovers and scored 20 points off those miscues.
-LMU won its seventh straight game inside of Eleazer Arena.