Salisbury, NC - The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team braved mother nature's icy clutches for a road trip against the Mars Hill Lions on Wednesday night. The Railsplitters entered the game with an 11-5 record, including a 5-2 mark in conference play. Lincoln Memorial was last on the road against Catawba on Saturday. During the game against the Indians, senior forward Martez Brown set a new conference record for rebounds in a game (28). It's been a long season for the Lions, limping into the game with a 1-13 record, winless in conference play with an 0-7 mark.

It was evident from the jump that Lincoln Memorial would be too much for Mars Hill. The Railsplitters roared out to a commanding 17-0 lead in what seemed like seconds. Me'Kell Burries had a vicious dunk and two three pointers in just the first 2:30 of game time. With contributions from Chase Rankin, Martez Brown, Wes Enis, and Jordan Walters, the Railsplitters were firmly in command of the game. Mars Hill began to mount a small comeback, drawing back to within single digits at 24-15 with 10:57 remaining in the first half. However, Lincoln Memorial continued to control the game as the score swelled to 33-17. For the remainder of the half, Mars Hill would fight, matching Lincoln Memorial bucket-for-bucket. The Lions outscored the Railsplitters in the final 8:43, but thanks to the fast start, Lincoln Memorial took a 45-34 lead into halftime.

To open the second half, the Lions drew back to within eight points thanks to a made three pointer, 45-37. Burries responded with a three, leading the Railsplitters down the path they were on in the first half. On the heels of a 9-0 run, Lincoln Memorial's lead grew back to 17 points, 54-37 just 2:30 into the second half. The teams traded another pair of three pointers as Burries connected on his sixth of the game. He also scored on the ensuing possession, remaining a perfect 10-for-10 from the field for the game to that point, tallying 26 points with a lot of time left to play. The game continued in Lincoln Memorial's favor as the lead swelled to 76-54 with 7:12 remaining. The Railsplitters continued to pour it on, taking their largest lead of the game (26 points) at 94-68 with 3:29 remaining in the game. From there, the game would draw to a close at 97-75. It was the third straight game for the Railsplitters with 90 or more points.

Lincoln Memorial shot an incredible 68.5% from the floor, including a 62% mark from long range, connecting on 13-of-21 three point attempts. The Railsplitters outrebounded the Lions 32-23.

Me'Kell Burries led all scorers, tallying 33 points on 13-of-14 shooting from the floor, including a 7-of-8 mark from long range. He was followed by Wes Enis with 20 points, Chase Rankin, who tallied a double-double, with 14 points and 10 assists. Jordan Walters and Martez Brown added eight points each. Osmar Garcia-Araujo added four points, Thomas Allard added three points, Jay Boyd, Luke Bartemes, and Matthew Sells added two points each. Elijah Bredwood added one point to round out scoring for Lincoln Memorial.

The Railsplitters will be back at home against Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday Jan. 20, with tip-off slated for 4:00 pm.