GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Paced by a career-high 25 points from redshirt freshman Me'Kell Burries, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball program traveled to nearby Greeneville for a SAC matchup with Tusculum and will head back to Harrogate victorious, 82-75.
 
The Pioneers (5-3, 5-1 SAC) got out to a quick start, but the hots hands of Lincoln Memorial in the first half kept things even at the break, 35-35. In the contest, the Railsplitters (7-1, 4-1 SAC) knocked down 50 percent of their shots while limiting Tusculum to just 36.4 percent from the field. The rebounding game was nearly even, but Lincoln Memorial out-rebounded the Pioneers, 40-38, with junior Martez Brown leading the way with nine boards.
 
The Railsplitters came out The Railsplitters held the Pioneers scoreless over three minutes coming out of the under-12-minute media timeout. Lincoln Memorial battled back to bring the score to within one at 25-24, while the Blue and Gray defense stood tall and held Tusculum scoreless from the 8:32 mark to the 4:04 mark. Redshirt freshman Me'Kell Burries paced the Railsplitters in the first half and knocked down 12 first-half points. The Pioneers were able to keep the first half interesting as they kept driving it down the lane, connecting on key layups to tie up the contest, 35-35, going into the half.
 
Lincoln Memorial came out of the break and connected from deep just 30 seconds into the new 20-minute half on a beautiful three-pointer from junior Jordan Guest. The Pioneers battled back and retook the lead, 46-43. Junior Martez Brown had other plans as he stormed the Railsplitters back to the lead after slamming home back-to-back dunks. Lincoln Memorial created a little room of separation as they achieved back-to-back and-one possessions. Powered by junior Martez Brown and Burries, the Railsplitters were able to open up a double-digit lead, 60-50, at the 11:53 mark. Tusculum found their offensive stroke as they crawled back into the Railsplitter lead, but it was not enough as Lincoln Memorial came away with the win, 82-75.
 
The Railsplitters were paced by Burries who finished the afternoon with a career-high 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting. The Newport, Ky. native also added three assists and one rebound to his line. Three other Splitters also tallied double-digit scoring with junior Martez Brown tallied 16 while Jordan Walters recorded 13 points and Jordan Guest added 11 points.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will take a week off before traveling to Mars Hill for South Atlantic Conference action. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET.
 
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