Huntsville, AL - If you're a fan of perimeter shooting, the Bill Penney Crossover Classic was the place for you on Friday night. Lincoln Memorial and Alabama-Huntsville put on a clinic from long range in an extremely intense match up. With more than four lead changes in the first five minutes of the game, the early minutes would be indicative of how the game would go throughout.

The Chargers opened the game on a 4-0 run before back-to-back threes from Matthew Sells gave the Railsplitters their first lead of the game. Alabama-Huntsville went on a 9-0 run to regain the lead before Ilijah Bredwood connected on a three to halt momentum, albeit momentarily. The Chargers mounted another run, and took their largest lead of the game at 25-15. Another answer from beyond the arc, this time by Chase Rankin, again halted the Alabama-Huntsville momentum, allowing Lincoln Memorial to mount a comeback of its own. With the score resting at 33-24, a flurry of three pointers from Rankin and Me'Kell Burries saw the Railsplitters dig themselves out of a hole. A three pointer from Sells with just under four minutes remaining gave Lincoln Memorial a 39-38 lead. Again the Chargers answered with a three of their own. Sells again connected from long range to draw the Railsplitters back to within a point, 44-45. From there, Alabama-Huntsville went on a 5-0 run to take a 50-44 lead into the half.

The Railsplitters posted a 48% three point percentage in the first half, connecting on 11 shots from deep. Alabama-Huntsville shot 58% from long range in the first half of the game, converting on 10-of-17 attempts. Both teams were rolling offensively in the first, with Lincoln Memorial connecting on 50% of attempts from the floor. Alabama-Huntsville also found the bottom of the net plenty in the first half, converting on 56.3% of shots from the floor.

The second half was a continuation of dominance from the perimeter for Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters connected on six more threes, shooting a 50% clip, in the first eight minutes of the second half, eventually regaining the lead. Alabama-Huntsville began to cool off from long range, connecting on only two three pointers through the first 10 minutes of the second half. However, the Chargers were able to regain a 69-67 lead midway through the second half, taking advantage of the backdoor cut. Jordan Walters answered with a bucket on the interior to tie the game at 69-69 with under nine minutes remaining. Burries then connected on a pair of back-to-back three pointers, giving the Railsplitters the lead at 75-69. Burries continued to pour it on from long range, seemingly unstoppable, connecting on five straight three pointers, seeing the Railsplitter lead grew to 86-74 with under six minutes remaining.

Alabama-Huntsville answered the Burries barrage with a 5-0 run to draw the score back to within single digits, 86-79. Yet again, Burries remained unstoppable from beyond the arc, connecting on his sixth three in a row to nullify the Chargers' run. On his seventh attempt, he finally missed, proving he was human after all. However, coming back down the court, Alabama-Huntsville didn't miss, connecting on a three, drawing back to within five points. Another three pointer from the Chargers saw the score drawn back to with two points, 89-87. Sells drove the lane for a lay up, giving the Railsplitters a four point cushion with a minute remaining. With :42 seconds remaining, the score sat at 91-90. This time attacking the interior, Burries connected on a lay up to give the Railsplitters a three point lead 93-90 with just :20 seconds remaining in the game.

After a brief timeout to set up the offense, Alabama-Huntsville missed the ensuing shot attempt. The rebound was hauled in by Sells who was then fouled and sent to the line. He sank both free throws, securing the Lincoln Memorial victory, 95-90.

The Railsplitters connected on an astonishing 23 three pointers during the game, shooting 50% from long range. Burries and Sells set new career highs in points scored in the winning effort.

Me'kell Burries led all scorers with 37 points. He was followed by Matthew Sells with 28 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Chase Rankin added 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in a well-rounded effort. Martez Brown added seven points and four rebounds. Elijah Bredwood added six points. Thomas Allard and Jordan Walters added two points each. Khalid Gates chipped in one point to round out scoring for the Railsplitters.

With the victory, Lincoln Memorial improved to 3-1 on the season and will take on West Alabama on Sunday at 3:00 PM in Livingston, AL.

The game can be found on FloSports at the following web address: https://www.flohoops.com/live/86795