MORROW, Ga. – Another day of success came upon the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball program as a defensive battle in the second half saw the Railsplitters come out on top in the final seconds over USC-Aiken on Saturday afternoon in Georgia. The Railsplitters move to 2-0 on the year, beginning the Jeremiah Samarrippas era with two victories in the first weekend of play.
 
Producing 45 first-half points, LMU faced their first deficit of the year, but that cold shoulder was shrugged off as the Railsplitters knocked down 50 percent of their shots in the second half with junior Jordan Guest being the difference maker.
 
The Railsplitters assisted on 13 of the 28 made-field goals compared to the Pacers assisting on just 11 of their field goals. Lincoln Memorial and USC-Aiken both finished the contest with 31 rebounds, but the defensive glass was best defended by the Railsplitters as they pulled down 27 defensive rebounds.
 
Lincoln Memorial opened the contest with a 11-5 run back by multiple buckets from freshman Matthew Sells. USC-Aiken responded with a 25-7 run over the next five minutes to take the lead and held onto the lead for the final eight minutes of the first half to take a 46-45 lead into the half.
 
A three-pointer by Guest put the Railsplitters back on top to begin the second half as the Pacers took the lead just three times in the final 20 minutes of play. The Lincoln Memorial lead never got bigger than six points but having a perfect free throw (12-for-12) percentage in the second half put the Railsplitters on top, giving them the win, 84-82.
 
Four different Railsplitters recorded double-digit scoring efforts with Dahling leading the way with 31. Guest added 18 on the afternoon while Sells and Jordan Walters added 14 and 10, respectively.
 
Overall, the Railsplitters shot 48.3 percent from the field, knocking down 28 shots in 58 attempts while the Blue and Gray defense allowed the Pacers to shoot 47 percent, going 42 percent from beyond the arc.
 
"In the first half Sells and Dahling carried us making shots," said head coach Jeremiah Samarrippas. "I thought Jordan Guest was the difference maker in the second half. Jordan Walters filled up the stat sheet and was very solid for us on the defensive end. I'm very proud of our team leaving this weekend 2-0 against solid Peach Belt competition. We'll learn from this experience and continue to get better."
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will come back to Tex Turner Arena as they prepare for their home opener and conference opener against the Anderson Trojans. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter basketball throughout the 2021-22 season.