Salisbury, NC - The 18th-ranked Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team took to the road on Saturday seeking its second straight conference victory after downing Mars Hill on Tuesday. Traveling to Salisbury, NC to take on the Catawba Indians, the Railsplitters had revenge on their minds after Catawba defeated Lincoln Memorial in the SAC Tournament Championship the last time the two teams met.
The Catawba Indians jumped out on the Railsplitters early 14-6 before Lincoln Memorial responded with a 12-4 run to tie the game at 18 apiece. The Railsplitters gained their first lead of the game on a pair of free throws from Wes Enis with 3:28 remaining in the first half, 30-28. Catawba regained the lead and the teams traded buckets throughout the remainder of the half, seeing the Catawba Indians take a slim 37-36 advantage into the half.
Lincoln Memorial increased offensive tempo to start the second half, taking its largest lead of the game to that point at 43-39 with 18 minutes remaining in the game. The Catawba Indians knotted the game at 44 apiece just one minute later. However, the Railsplitters answered with a 17-9 run to take their largest lead of the game at 61-53 with 11:37 left on the clock. Lincoln Memorial continued to build on its lead, jumping out to double digits 63-53 for the first time during the game. Catawba began to fight back and chip away at the Lincoln Memorial lead on the heels of a 14-10 run to cut the lead back to single digits, 73-67 with five minutes remaining in the game. The lead remained at six for Lincoln Memorial as the clock crept below three minutes. The Railsplitters' lead grew to 79-70 with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The Lincoln Memorial lead grew to 82-72 as the Railsplitters began to close the game from the free throw line as the clock moved below 30-seconds. The Railsplitters closed the game to claim a 10-point victory, 84-74, improving to 4-1 overall with a 2-0 mark in conference play.
Lincoln Memorial was led in scoring by Wes Enis with 21 points to lead all scorers. Elyjah Freeman tallied a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. EJ Smith added 14 points and two assists. Jordan Walters added 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Osmar Garcia-Araujo tallied 10 points and added three rebounds and assists, seeing five Railsplitters finish the game in double figures. Mahmoud Bagura "Mo" added seven points and five rebounds. Ngundeng Ruey worked his way onto the board with a free throw late in the game, tallying one points to round out scoring for Lincoln Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial will be back in action on Wednesday, on the road at Limestone.
