HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team cruised past Mars Hill on Saturday afternoon for an 80-56 win in its conference opener at Tex Turner Arena.
 
The Railsplitters (7-1, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) led for all but three minutes at the beginning of the game, breaking away with an 18-0 run through the middle stages of the first half to go up 24-8 at the 7:19 mark after a Jordan Walters dunk. Lincoln Memorial went into the halftime break up 42-23 and had as much as a 33-point lead at 79-46 with 2:20 to play.
 
Jordan Guest (14 points, seven rebounds) and Quay Kennedy (14 points, four assists) led the Railsplitter offense, while Jordan Walters finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. Chase Rankin contributed 11 points, three assists and two rebounds.
 
The Lions (2-4, 0-1 SAC) were led by Kory Davis, who went for 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
Lincoln Memorial shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the field while limiting Mars Hill to only 32.4 percent (22-68) shooting and outrebounding the Lions 51-to-40.
 
The Railsplitters will take a week off before hosting in-state rival Tusculum on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Tex Turner Arena.