HARROGATE, Tenn. – After opening their 2021-22 season on the road, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball program came back to Tex Turner Arena on Wednesday night and captured a convincing 91-73 win over Anderson to begin South Atlantic Conference play.
 
The Trojans (2-1, 0-1 SAC) came out early and often as they took a 46-40 advantage into the break, but it was the Railsplitters (3-0, 1-0 SAC) getting out in the second frame as the notched 43 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes while the Blue and Gray defense limited Anderson to 25 percent. In the contest, Lincoln Memorial knocked down a total of 44.6 percent of their field goals compared to 39 percent by the visitors.
 
The Railsplitters assisted on 18 field goals with senior guard Chase Rankin leading the way with six dishes. The rebounding battle nearly came out even, but LMU was able to outrebound Anderson, 42-40.
 
Playing more reserved, the Railsplitters only committed eight turnovers in 40 minutes of play while the Trojans gave it up a total of 14 times. Lincoln Memorial was able to turn those turnovers into points as they outscored the Trojans, 14-4, on points off turnovers.
 
The contest was even up until the under-16 media timeout with the Railsplitters holding a 11-10 advantage. A quick 10-5 run by LMU gave them some separation, but the Trojans pulled within one after a three-pointer by Quin Nottingham. The first half came down to the wire with a lead change as Anderson used a 6-2 run to close out the half, 46-40 on top.
 
Coming out of the break, the Railsplitters looked to freshman Matthew Sells as a couple quick threes by the Rickman, Tennessee native had LMU down by just one, 51-50. Just moments later, Sells struck again as he put Lincoln Memorial up 55-53, after a pair of free throws.
 
The Blue and Gray defensive pressure turned up as the Trojans faced shooting struggles in the second half. The Lincoln Memorial offense got to work as Sells tallied 19 second-half points with Rankin adding 12 second-half points en route to a 91-73 win over Anderson to kick off SAC play.
 
Senior Alex Dahling finished the evening with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three assists en route to his first double-double of the season. Rankin and Sells notched 16 and 19 points, respectively. Junior Jordan Guest made the fourth Railsplitter of the night to tally double-digit scoring after putting up 18.
 
Leading the Trojans was Crosby James, who tallied 17 points off the bench for Anderson. Reigning SAC Player of the Week Parker Dortch added 16 points in the contest while pulling down nine rebounds.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will hit the road for a single game as they travel to Wingate, North Carolina to battle the Bulldogs. Tip-off against Wingate is set for 4 p.m. EST inside Cuddy Arena.
 
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.