Bristol, TN - Following a loss to then-ranked #24 West Alabama last week, the No.17/21 Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team found its way back into the win column on Saturday on the road at King following the Thanksgiving break.

The Railsplitters completely dominated the game from tip to finish, primarily by controlling the interior of the floor. Lincoln Memorial lead by as many as 18 points in the first half on the heels of a 61% shooting performance from the floor. The Tornado did well on the offensive glass in the first half, tallying 10 offensive rebounds. However, King was unable to capitalize on many of those offensive boards. The Tornado had no answer for Martez Brown as he completely dominated the interior throughout the contest. Brown tied a career-high in rebounds with 18. The Railsplitters' defense limited King to just 22% shooting in the first half, and only 24 points total, taking a commanding 39-24 lead into the halftime intermission.

King slowly began to chip away at the Railsplitter lead in the early minutes of the second half, cutting the game back to within 10 points at one juncture. However, with merely four minutes gone in the second half, Lincoln Memorial had already built an astonishing 40 to 4 advantage in the paint, as the Railsplitters continued to dictate the pace and flow of the game. The Tornado began to heat up slightly from the perimeter, connecting on three shots from long range to cut into the Railsplitter lead, drawing the score to within 12 points at 54-42. From there, Lincoln Memorial continued to dictate the pace of the game, eventually re-extending its lead to 17 points, 65-48 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.

With continued success on the offensive glass, and from the perimeter, King was able to draw back to within single digits at 65-56 with just over four minutes remaining in regulation. With two successful attempts from the charity stipe, the lead was cut to eight points, 65-57 by the under-four media timeout. Refusing to go down without a fight, the Tornado continued to claw away at the lead from the perimeter, drawing the game back to within single digits, at 72-63 with just over a minute remaining in the game. A pair of free throws from both teams saw the game remain within three possessions as the clock rolled to under one minute remaining, 74-65. Chase Rankin connected on a pair of free throws to extend the Railsplitter lead back to double digits, 76-65, before King connected on another shot from long range, cutting the lead to 76-68 with 34.3 seconds remaining in the game. Again, Rankin connected on both ensuing free throw attempts to put the Railsplitters in front by double digits in the dwindling moments of the game. Matthew Sells stepped to the line in the final moments connecting on a pair of free throws, bringing the score to 80-68. King then followed with 1-of-2 of free throws to bring the game to its final score of 80-69.

The Railsplitters limited the Tornado to just 30.8% shooting from the floor for the game. Lincoln Memorial also outrebounded King, who is ranked as the 14th-best rebounding team in NCAA DII, 42-37.The Railsplitters absolutely dominated the interior of the court, with 52 points in the paint to the Tornado's 12. 

Martez Brown led the game in scoring rebounding, tying a career-high in rebounding, with a double-double of 21 points and 18 rebounds. He was followed by Me'Kell Burries with 17 points, Chase Rankin with 12 points, Jay Boyd with seven points, Matthew Sells with five points, Khalid Gates with four points, and Jordan Walters with two points.

With the win, Lincoln Memorial improved to 4-2 on the season. The Railsplitters will be back at home in their next contest, Wednesday November 29. Tip-off is slated for 7:00pm in Harrogate at Tex Turner Arena.