HARROGATE, Tenn. – Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) recorded his fourth consecutive double-double to carry the 16th-ranked Railsplitters (19-4, 14-3 SAC) in an 87-67 win over the Tusculum Pioneers (10-13, 7-10 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
 
Lincoln Memorial shot 49 percent from the field despite going 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from three-point range to win its ninth consecutive game and move just a game back of Queens for first place in the SAC standings, as the Royals lost to Wingate for the second time on Wednesday night. The win also represented the Railsplitters' 20th straight against the rival Pioneers.
 
"We looked tired and we looked slow on both ends of the floor," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said. "We didn't look crisp offensively and we struggled defensively. It was one of those nights where we didn't play great defense but we were fortunate that they missed shots.
 
"We are going to have to play better. We looked tired and I'm going to have to find a way to get us fresher for the stretch run. That's on me to find a way to get these guys playing with some fresh legs."
 
Perry powered the LMU attack with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and two steals in just 26 minutes of work. It marked the Bartow, Florida native's fourth straight double-double and sixth of the season overall.
 
"Chris was one of the only guys that was good defensively," Schertz said. "Offensively, we got him the ball in pretty good position. If you get him the ball in the post, he's a load down there and I thought he did a nice job of screening and rolling and then catching and finishing. It's nice to have an anchor down there that you can throw the ball to and something good is going to happen."
 
Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.) was also efficient, scoring 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting to go with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. As a tandem, Perry and Shaw finished 17-for-28 from the field.
 
The rest of the team went 15-for-37. Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, while Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) picked up his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cornelius Taylor (Claxton, Ga.) added nine points.
 
Perry scored the first eight points of the game for the Railsplitters, but Tusculum used a couple of three-pointers and a bucket from Ronnie Baylark to take a 10-8 lead with just over 16 minutes left in the opening half.
 
The Pioneers continued to held a one-point lead at 13-12 following another Baylark bucket at 14:39, but Lincoln Memorial smothered Tusculum for a nearly four-minute stretch, holding the Pioneers scoreless to reel off 11 unanswered points and take a commanding 23-13 lead with just over 11 minutes left.
 
It was then the Railsplitters' turn to go cold, as the home team went more than five minutes without a field goal, tallying just a pair of free throws during that stretch to allow Tusculum to whittle the lead down to 25-21.
 
However, Lincoln Memorial shook to life and extended the lead back to 10 points at 36-26 following a triple by Choice and a basket from Shaw. The Railsplitters continued to push after that, using a bucket from Perry and a pair of free throws from Deshawn Patterson (Lenoir, N.C.) to balloon the lead to 43-28 with 48 seconds left in the half. Chase Mounce hit two free throws at the end of the half to trim LMU's cushion to 43-30 at the break.
 
The Pioneers started fast and cut the Railsplitters' lead to 48-40 early in the second half. Lincoln Memorial maintained anywhere from an eight to 12 point lead over the ensuing passage of play, but a 6-0 run increased the lead to 66-50 with 9:13 left in regulation.
 
The Railsplitters never led by less than 13 points after that, while a dunk from Terry followed by a Taylor three made it a 76-57 game with 4:59 to play. After Tusculum closed the gap to 16 on a Cory Fagan three, Lincoln Memorial ripped off an 11-0 flurry to take an 87-60 lead, its largest of the game, with 2:12 left.
 
Kendall Patterson scored 18 points to lead the Pioneers, while Mounce managed 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Baylark tallied 10 points and Zach Davis and Trey Blevins had seven points apiece.
 
Tusculum finished shooting 41.7 percent from the field with an 8-for-24 mark from three-point range. The Pioneers converted nine of their 13 free-throw attempts, while LMU went 16-for-21 at the line.
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters travel to Newberry, S.C. on Saturday to face the Newberry Wolves at noon inside of Eleazer Arena. Lincoln Memorial will be looking to avenge a 107-102 loss to Newberry from back on December 17.
 
Quick Hits
-Lincoln Memorial dismantled Tusculum 44-28 on the backboards and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, leading to nine second-chance points. The Railsplitters dominated the paint in general, outscoring the Pioneers 42-14 inside the square.
-Tusculum was playing on less than 24 hours of rest after paying a visit to Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.
-Perry scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half. Shaw paced the Railsplitters in the second with 11 points.