HARROGATE, Tenn. – A valiant second half propelled the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team to an entertaining 77-63 victory over 16th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte Wednesday night inside B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena. The fourth-ranked Railsplitters, who increased their lead in the South Atlantic Conference by improving to 13-1 in the league, earned their third top-25 win of the season by outscoring the visiting Royals (9-4, 8-3 SAC) 54-33 in the second half after a slow start.
 
Uncharacteristically poor shooting and missed shots on would-be easy baskets quickly added up in the opening 20 minutes of competition as LMU found itself trailing by seven at halftime. Held to a season-low 23 points in the first half, the Railsplitters responded with determination in the first four minutes of second-half play and led by as much as 14 late.
 
Extending its home court win streak to 27, LMU matched Queens' physicality and made key shots in the final 10 minutes of the contest. Overcoming 25 percent (9-of-36) first-half shooting, the Railsplitters shot 55.9 percent from the field across the second half, including going 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) from distance and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
 
Led by junior forward Jordan Guest's 18 points, all of which came in the second half behind four three pointers, LMU won its 47th game in the last 48 outings and notched its 35th SAC victory in the Railsplitters' last 36 conference matchups.
 
Picking up its eighth consecutive triumph, LMU forced 14 Royal turnovers and turned those miscues into 16 points while turning the ball over a season-low seven times. The Railsplitters were particularly strong defensively in the second half, limiting Queens to 38.2 percent (13-of-34) shooting despite the Royals connecting on 50 percent (9-of-18) of their three-point attempts for the night.

Queens scored the first seven points of the game before LMU went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-7 lead on a layup from redshirt sophomore guard/forward Xavier Bledson just over five-and-a-half minutes in. Holding the Railsplitters scoreless for the ensuing 6:56 of play, the Royals went in front 19-9 following a 12-0 run. A fastbreak layin by junior point guard Julius Brown off an outlet pass from senior guard Alex Dahling following a Bledson steal made it 19-11 at the 7:31 mark of the half. However, the visitors extended their lead to 11 on a Kenny Dye three pointer and led by 10 with under a minute to go in the half.
 
Dahling nailed a deep ball at the first-half buzzer to make it a seven-point, 30-23 affair at the break. Going 5-for-17 (29-.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, LMU's 23 points were the lowest in any half of play since Feb. 9, 2019 (a 67-64 win at Wingate). Queens shot 44.4 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and went 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) from outside.
 
A momentum-altering 16-7 run to start the second half gave the Railsplitters a 39-37 lead at the under-16 media timeout before LMU took a six-point lead at 46-40 on a pair of technical foul free throws from Dahling. Redshirt senior guard Devin Whitfield drove to the basket for a layup to keep the Railsplitters up by six with 13:39 remaining.
 
After the Royals knotted things up at 48 on a Gavin Rains layup, Guest connected on a trey to make it 53-50 with under 10 minutes to go. Up by one, LMU went on a game-sealing 18-8 run over the next 6:41 to take a convincing 11-point, 71-60 lead with only 2:47 left. A three by Queens' Jamari Smith with two-and-a-half minutes remaining would be the Royals' final points of the game as the Railsplitters closed on a 6-0 run. A Guest layup and four-straight free throws from redshirt junior guard Cameron Henry clinched the win.

LMU assisted on 24 of its 28 made baskets, finishing the night 40 percent (28-of-70) from the field and 41.7 percent (15-of-36) from long range. Queens shot 41 percent (25-of-61) for the 40 minutes and went 9-for-18 from deep but was 4-for-10 at the foul line.

Guest nearly had a double-double, hauling in nine rebounds while distributing a career-high four assists. Whitfield scored 14 points, dished out a career-high seven assists and grabbed six rebounds as both Dahling and Henry notched 11 points. Bledson recorded seven points, five assists and two steals in 21 minutes of action off the bench.
 
The Royals were led by Smith's 22 points on 4-for-4 three-point shooting and eight rebounds, Malcolm Stevenson's 12 points and nine boards, Rains' 12 points and seven rebounds, and Dye's 11 points and seven assists.
 
For the third time this season the Railsplitters were perfect at the charity stripe.
 
Head coach Josh Schertz improved to 17-5 against his former boss and LMU moved to 17-5 against Queens since the Royals joined the SAC in 2013.



Up Next…
The Railsplitters continue their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon with Coker University before wrapping up the home portion of the regular season Monday, Feb. 8 when LMU hosts Catawba at 7 p.m.

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 2020-21 season.