HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball program went to battle on Saturday afternoon and came away with a NABC Top 15 win after defeating No. 13/11 Queens, 83-74, inside Tex Turner Arena.
 
The Railsplitters (14-2, 11-2 SAC) and Royals (13-3, 9-3 SAC) got out to a defensive battle as both programs shot just 38 percent in the first half, but LMU held the advantage at half by just three. Queens controlled the glass during the afternoon pulling down 42 rebounds while Lincoln Memorial grabbed just 38.
 
Lincoln Memorial got things going early as they went up 7-3 after four minutes of play, but just moments later, Queens rallied and took an 11-10 lead into the first media timeout. Junior Jordan Guest came out of the timeout moments later and drilled one from beyond the arc to give the lead back to the Railsplitters. Guest connected again from deep to further strengthen the LMU lead, and then graduate student Alex Dahling connected for his first points of the contest at the 13:17 mark.
 
Using a 13-0 run out of the under-16 media, the Blue and Gray defense held the Royals scoreless for three and a half minutes to take a 23-11 lead into the under-12 media timeout. Queens then found a grove and returned favor by limiting the Splitter offense as they climb to within one point at the 7:08 mark. The Railsplitters got some separation down the stretch including to big three-pointers from Dahling to help the Railsplitters lead at the break, 35-32.
 
The battle tipped over into the second half as both programs tried to grasp at the lead, and Lincoln Memorial stayed on top out of the break, going into the under-16 media timeout up 46-41. The Railsplitters continued to battle for some separation, and saw their double-digit lead return after Dahling nailed a jumper to make it 62-52. Lincoln Memorial was able to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the contest as they went onto even the season series with a 83-74 victory over No. 13/11 Queens.
 
Guest lead all scorers with a game-high 27 points on 7-for-14 from the field followed by Me'Kell Burries with 20 points and six rebounds. Graduate student Alex Dahling notched 10 points on the afternoon including his 1,000^th career point at the 3:40 mark in the first. Dahling became the 33^rd member of the four-digit club for men's basketball.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will be back in action on Wednesday, January 19 when they travel north to Wise, Virginia for a SAC contest with UVA Wise. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST.
 
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.