HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball program kept up their winning ways after two Railsplitters record 20-point games in the 98-81 win over Coker on Saturday afternoon. The 5-1 start to the Samarrippas era marks the best start by a first-year coach for men's basketball since LMU Hall of Fame member Dean Bailey started 5-1 in 1948.
 
"They play really hard," said head coach Jeremiah Samarrippas. "They're not going to give up no matter what the what the score was in the game. They've got a good group of guys. They made some shots in the second half that kept it close, but we also countered them."
 
The Cobras (1-5, 1-2 SAC) struck early, taking a 12-7 lead, but the Railsplitters (5-1, 3-1 SAC) got out of early shooting trouble as they took a 41-34 lead into the halftime break. Lincoln Memorial continued their high offense push as they shot 63.3 percent from the field in the second half, never giving up the lead to capture the victory, 98-81.
 
Junior Jordan Guest lead the rebounding charge as he grabbed seven in the match while the Splitters combined for 31 rebounds compared to Coker grabbing just 28 boards. More than doubling the sharing, Lincoln Memorial netted 31 assists with redshirt sophomore Chase Rankin posting nine assists. The Cobras tallied just 15 assists in the loss.
 
Pulling out to a 12-7 lead, the Cobras held onto the lead, but the Railsplitters took the lead, 16-14, on a fast-break layup by Rankin. Lincoln Memorial held onto the lead after 6-0 run put the Splitters up 26-20. The Railsplitters did not give up the lead for the remainder of the half as the Blue and Gray took a 41-34 advantage into the break.
 
It was not until the 17:32 mark of the second half that the Railsplitters saw their first double-digit lead of the game at, 50-40. Lincoln Memorial went onto keep the double-digit lead for the majority of the second half as the Cobras came to within seven at the 12:38 mark to cut the Splitter led to 64-57. A three-pointer by freshman Matthew Sells at the 11:43 mark gave the Railsplitters back the double-digit lead and they kept the lead, closing out the contest with a 98-81 victory.
 
Guest finished the night leading Lincoln Memorial with 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting including four three-pointers. In addition to his nine assists, Rankin tallied nine points in the contest. Sells was second of two 20-point scorers in the win as he finished the afternoon with a career-high 23 points. The Rickman, Tennessee native also added five rebounds and four assists in the contest.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will have four days to prepare for non-conference foe Erskine in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, December 1^st inside Tex Turner Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST.
 
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