HARROGATE, Tenn. – Nationally second-ranked Lincoln Memorial used a pair of first half scoring runs to build a large lead and went on to defeat Anderson, 87-58, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Wednesday night at Tex Turner arena.
"I didn't have the guys ready to compete tonight," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "We struggled to put the ball in the basket all game and in turn had to play a lot of defense in transition. We will regroup and learn from the loss."
Anderson slipped to 1-2 overall and 1-2 in league action, while Lincoln Memorial (7-0, 5-0 SAC) the preseason league favorite, remained undefeated with its 39th consecutive victory and 27th straight conference triumph.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior Jalen Hillery led the Trojans with a season-high 14 points, while senior guard Alex Keel added 11 points. The Oviedo, Fla., native was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe en route to his season high. Senior guard Quin Nottingham dropped in nine points and dished out a team-high three assists. Senior forward Josh Livingston netted five points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Lincoln Memorial came up empty on its first three possessions of the contest, while AU's Crosby James and Livingston connected on the Trojans' first two 3-point attempts to give the Black and Gold an early 6-0 advantage with just more than 18 minutes on the clock.
But the Railsplitters countered with 15 unanswered points over the next three minutes to claim a nine-point lead, with many of the baskets coming on baseline drives. James snapped the LMU run with a jumper and junior Kai Rivers added a pair of free throws at the 14:16 mark. Following a miss on the other end by the Railsplitters' Cameron Henry, AU's Hillery capped a 9-3 surge by the Trojans, as they climbed back within a trey on the first of three occasions.
With Lincoln Memorial nursing a 20-15 edge, Hillery dropped in a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to just three midway through the frame, but the Railsplitters answered with an 11-0 run as part of a 23-7 outburst that gave them a 43-24 lead with less than two minutes left in the first half.
Second Half
Cold shooting by the Trojans (17.6%) and three treys out of six long-range attempts by LMU enabled the Railsplitters to claim a 67-38 advantage midway through the half and AU was unable to get any closer than the final 29-point margin inside the final nine minutes.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans were 13-of-14 from the free throw line for a season-high 92.9 percent shooting percentage.
NOTABLES
• Lincoln Memorial hasn't lost a contest since falling to West Texas A&M in the 2019-20 season-opener.
• Before Queens accomplished the feat two season ago, the Trojans were the last team other than LMU to claim outright sole possession of the league's championship – in 2012.
• LMU won the rebounding battle, 51-36.
• The Trojans connected on 20-of-67 (29.9%) field goal attempts, while the Railsplitters shot 46.5 percent from the field.
UP NEXT
Anderson is in the midst of playing eight contests in a 20-day span, including five in nine days. The Trojans are slated to open a three-game homestand by playing host to Carson-Newman, Saturday at 2 p.m.
