HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team led 54-38 at halftime before cruising to a 95-81 win over Emory & Henry Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena to sweep the regular season series with the Wasps.
 
The No. 8 Railsplitters (23-2, 13-1 South Atlantic Conference) handled Emory & Henry (14-9, 6-8 SAC) thanks to a pair of standout performances including a career-high 24 points by Luke Bartemes on 9-14 shooting (6-11 on 3-pointers) and a 10-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double from Chase Rankin.
 
Lincoln Memorial trailed 21-16 at the 13:33 mark of the first half after a hot start for both offenses, but the hosts ended the period on a 12-1 run to take the 16-point lead into the break. Emory & Henry made it a game by coming back to within five points at 58-53 and 61-56 midway through the second stanza, but the Railsplitters went on a deciding 16-2 rally to put the Wasps away.
 
Bartemes dropped 17 points on 5 of 8 3-point shooting in the first half to provide a spark off the bench for Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters had three other players in double figures for the game: Martez Brown (20 points, five rebounds), Me'Kell Burries (18 points and 5-7 3-pointers) and Quay Kennedy (11 points, eight rebounds, five assists).
 
The hosts shot 47.1 percent (32-68) from the field including 41.9 percent (13-31) from distance and 75 percent (18-24) at the free throw line and outrebounded Emory & Henry 43-34 in the battle of the boards.
 
Lincoln Memorial will stay at home and Coker at 4 p.m. on Saturday in another SAC showdown.