HARROGATE, Tenn. – A unified and efficient offensive and defensive effort paved the way for the Railsplitters in an 81-72 victory over the Wingate Bulldogs on Saturday evening at Tex Turner Arena. With the win, Lincoln Memorial (7-3, 4-1 SAC) improves to 82-5 at home over the past six seasons and wins its 26th consecutive regular-season home game while defeating Wingate (4-5, 2-1 SAC) for the 14th straight time. 
 
"I thought we played a tough-minded, focused game," said head coach Josh Schertz. "The last few minutes weren't so hot. We didn't play well down the stretch, but credit to Wingate for playing all the way through. 
 
"But I thought we played really hard and together. We generated some good looks offensively. Our guys were aggressive, attacking and working collectively to make plays for one another and get good shots." 
 
The Railsplitters ended the game on a four-minute scoring drought and missed their last three shot attempts while turning it over five times, but still managed to shoot 48 percent for the game. That included a sizzling 57 percent mark with six three-pointers in the first half alone. 
 
A balanced offensive effort fueled the victory as five different players finished in double figures. 
 
Cameron Henry scored a career-high 15 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds in 32 minutes of work, while Kamaran Calhoun matched that mark with 15 points on a 7-for-10 effort at the charity stripe. Alex Dahling connected on four threes to score 12 points, while Anthony Brown scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Cornelius Taylor was limited to 26 minutes due to foul trouble, but still contributed 10 points. 
 
"The strength of this group has got to be the team," Schertz said of the offensive balance. "The guys played well together offensively. There's a difference between attacking and attacking with poise, and I thought we attacked with poise."
 
Defensively, the Railsplitters were locked in from start to finish, holding the Bulldogs to 37 percent shooting and a 9-for-29 effort from three. Marco Haskins, who entered the game scoring over 20 points per game, was rendered mostly ineffective with a team-high 14 points on 2-for-8 shooting. He also led the team with nine rebounds. 
 
Charlie Hovassee was second on the team with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Jarren Cottingham hit double digits as well with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting.  
 
"It's got to be collective and it's got to be a team," Schertz said of the team's defensive approach. "When we did get beat, guys did a nice job of covering for one another." 
 
The Railsplitters only trailed for 14 seconds total and led outright for over 39 minutes. 
 
After a three-pointer from Haskins put the Bulldogs in front 5-4, Dahling hit back-to-back threes and Henry followed with a triple of his own to cap an 11-0 scoring burst that gave the Railsplitters a 15-5 lead at the 15:13 mark. 
 
A jumper from Quantra Taylor and a triple by Hovassee brought the Bulldogs back within five with 13:43 left in the half, but the Railsplitters held Wingate scoreless for the next four minutes and scored nine unanswered points to push the lead to 27-13 with less than 10 minutes remaining on the clock. 
 
The Railsplitters never led by less than seven for the remainder of the half while extending the lead to as many as 16, as a bucket from Xavier Bledson with 46 seconds remaining sent the home team into the locker room with a 43-34 cushion. 
 
A pullup jumper from Frankie Johnson shrunk the Railsplitters' lead down to 45-38 early in the second half, but Henry scored four straight points to spark a 7-0 run that extended it back to 52-38. 
 
Wingate was never able to get it the deficit down to less than 10 after that, while a three-pointer from Julius Brown followed by a runner from Anthony Brown gave the Railsplitters their largest lead of the game at 76-57 with five minutes left to play. 
 
The Bulldogs closed the game on a 10-0 run as the Railsplitters struggled mightily down the stretch, but it was too late as Lincoln Memorial led 81-62 when that run began. 
 
Quick Hits 
 
- Wingate accounted for a 41-35 rebounding edge and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds that resulted in 10 second-chance points. 
 
- Lincoln Memorial's starting five was responsible for 64 of the team's 81 points. Rhondi Hackett led the second unit with six points and had a career-high five blocks to help anchor the Railsplitter defense down the stretch. 
 
- The Railsplitters have now beaten the Bulldogs 12 straight times at Tex Turner Arena. Wingate has not beaten Lincoln Memorial since March 2013. 
 
Up Next 
 
The Railsplitters will host arguably the most accomplished men's basketball program in Division II history on Wednesday when they welcome Kentucky Wesleyan to town for a 7 p.m. tip.