MARS HILL, N.C. – The No. 1 Railsplitters (20-1, 14-0 SAC) looked every bit the part of the nation's top-ranked team on Wednesday night, opening on a 10-0 run on their way to a 100-68 walloping of the Mars Hill Lions (3-17, 1-12 SAC) at Stanford Arena.
 
With their ninth consecutive victory, Lincoln Memorial clinched its ninth straight 20-win season while extending the nation's longest active road winning streak to 18. In addition to that, the Railsplitters won their 28th straight South Atlantic Conference contest to move one away from tying the conference record of 29 set by LMU from 2014-16.
 
Though Wednesday's night's outcome was a far cry from the Railsplitters' record-breaking 87-point win over Mars Hill the first time the two teams met back on December 11, it was still another brilliant all-around performance on both ends of the floor.
 
Lincoln Memorial shot 55 percent and canned 12 three-pointers, including nine in the first half. The Railsplitters also handed out 28 assists – tying the team's second-highest output of the season – while turning it over only 11 times to reach the century mark for the third straight game and 10th time total this season.
 
Defensively, the Railsplitters held Mars Hill to 32 percent shooting and a 5-for-22 mark from three. The Lions were able to put up 45 points in the second half to play Lincoln Memorial nearly even over the final 20 minutes, but 19 of those 45 points were earned at the free-throw line.
 
"I thought we played with good pace and movement offensively which showed in both our efficiency and the fact that we had 28 assists," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said. "Defensively we were poor all night. We were just fortunate they missed some shots they normally make in the first half so we were able to get some separation in the first 20 minutes. We certainly weren't dialed in at all defensively but fortunately for us our offense was able to carry us tonight."
 
Cornelius Taylor led the Railsplitters with 20 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals, while Emanuel Terry piled up 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Trevon Shaw pitched in 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Dorian Pinson filled out the stat sheet with nine points, seven boards, four assists and three steals. Romeao Ferguson contributed 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 10 minutes off the bench.
 
Four players did the bulk of the scoring for Mars Hill. Austin Gilyard led that quartet with 17 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench, while Bennett Wilson had 13 points and four assists. Nassyr Daniel (11) and Luke Van-Rijn (10) also finished in double figures for the Lions, who fell to 1-11 in their last 12 games with the loss.
 
The end result was never really in question as Taylor knocked down a three-pointer on the Railsplitters' first possession of the game to spark a 10-0 opening run that was capped by a dunk from Terry at the 17:25 mark. Mars Hill responded to that with a brief 9-3 splurge that cut the deficit to 13-9, but Lincoln Memorial promptly ripped off a 15-1 run over the next four minutes to extend the lead to 28-10 with 10:33 left in the half. Taylor kick started that run with back-to-back three-pointers as part of a 14-point half.
 
The Railsplitters continued to push from that point on, using three-pointers from Shaw and Taylor to make it a 37-12 game with 6:30 remaining in the half. Lincoln Memorial's first-half lead would grow to as many as 26 points before they ultimately took a 48-23 cushion into the break.
 
LMU shot 53 percent and buried nine three-pointers in the half, while Mars Hill went a dreadful 9-for-36 (25 percent) from the field, including a 1-for-11 mark from three.
 
Three dunks from Terry comprised a 10-2 Railsplitter run to open the second half that extended the lead to 58-25 less than two minutes into the frame.
 
Later in the half, a three-pointer from Van-Rijn followed by four straight points by Gilyard brought the Lions to within 21 at 64-43 with well over 13 minutes left in regulation. However, that's as close as it would get while the Railsplitters used a 7-0 flurry to increase the lead to 83-50 with 7:23 left.
 
The deficit never dipped below 28 points after that as the Railsplitters waltzed to their 18th consecutive win over the Lions.
 
Quick Hits
 
- Despite a massive size advantage, the Railsplitters only mustered a 43-40 rebounding edge.
 
- Lincoln Memorial has now won its last five games by 32, 44, 33, 29 and 39 points, respectively.
 
- The Railsplitters claimed the ninth 20-win season in head coach Josh Schertz's 10-year tenure. The LMU men's basketball program had just 13 total 20-win seasons in the nearly 100 years of competition prior to Schertz's arrival.
 
- With a win on Saturday, the Railsplitters would tie the conference record for the longest SAC winning streak (29).  
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters return to Tex Turner Arena on Saturday to host the Newberry Wolves at 4 p.m. Lincoln Memorial will be looking to sweep the season series after grinding out a 98-94 win at Newberry on December 16.