Harrogate, TN - The 14th Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team was back in action at home on Wednesday night against Tusculum, seeking its sixth consecutive conference victory of the season and sole possession of the South Atlantic Conference lead. The Railsplitters came out hot and never looked back, cruising to a 78-62 victory.
Elyjah Freeman erupted for 26 points, at one point outscoring Tusculum on his own. Lincoln Memorial held the lead the
entire game.
Lincoln Memorial rushed out to a 12-4 lead before a 6-0 run put Tusculum squarely back in the game, 12-10. The Railsplitters answered with a 10-2 run, extending their lead to 22-12. With 8:47 remaining in the first half, Lincoln Memorial guard
Elyjah Freeman had 13 points, while the entire Pioneers team had 12. The Railsplitters outscored the Pioneers 17-13 to take a 39-25 lead into the half. The two teams traded buckets out of the half tallying seven points each to leave the score in favor of Lincoln Memorial 46-32 with 15:27 remaining in the game.
The Pioneers pulled to within 11 point 48-37 with 14:14 remaining, and would never be that close again as the Railsplitters began to pull away. From the 11-minute mark of the second half to the 4:43 mark, Lincoln Memorial outscored Tusculum 13-8 to take a commanding 20-point advantage, 68-48. From there, the Railsplitters went into cruise control, taking a 78-62 victory.
Lincoln Memorial played a phenomenal offensive game, tallying 20 assists on 29 made baskets, shooting 49% from the floor, including a 33.3% mark from long range. The Railsplitters dominated the paint 42-20 and fast break situations 22-4. Lincoln Memorial forced 13 turnovers, scoring 15 points off turnovers.
Elyjah Freeman led the Railsplitters in scoring with 26 points. He was followed by
Wes Enis with 15 points,
EJ Smith with 12 points,
Osmar Garcia-Araujo with 10 points,
Thomas Allard with five points,
Jordan Walters and
Connor Jordan with four points each, and
Ngundeng Ruey with two points to round out scoring for Lincoln Memorial.
With the victory, the Railsplitters improved to 8-1 on the season with an unblemished 6-0 mark in conference place, taking sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference men's basketball standings.
