ANDERSON, S.C. - Using a first-half scoring outburst, nationally third-ranked and league-leading Lincoln Memorial defeated Anderson, 87-71, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson (7-20, 5-16 SAC), which stunned No. 5 Lincoln Memorial at the Abney Center in 2011 and again shocked the top-ranked Railsplitters in the Electric City in 2012, was unable to duplicate the feat on Wednesday night. Lincoln Memorial (25-2, 21-0 SAC), which earlier clinched its fifth regular-season conference title in six years, won its 15th straight outing since losing at Bellarmine in early January.
Anderson freshman guard Randall Shaw led all scorers with 26
points and recorded seven rebounds, with junior guard Lex Davis
tallying 15 points, a game-high eight rebounds and handing out
three assists. Freshman guard Shawn Benard added 10 points on the
night.
Gerel Simmons and Luquon Choice led the Railsplitters with 20
points apiece, while Emanuel Terry netted 11 points.
The Trojans won the rebounding battle, 38-36, but the Railsplitters outscored AU by eight in the paint and converted 21 Trojan turnovers into 19 points.
The game featured five ties and eight lead changes in the opening 10:58, with the Trojans building a 15-8 lead inside the first eight minutes as Shaw netted nine of his points in a three-minute span. The seven-point advantage marked the Black and Gold's largest of the night, as LMU countered with a 15-6 surge to claim a 23-21 edge with 10:14 left in the opening half.
Senior Steven Faust's traditional three-point play 20 seconds later gave AU a brief 24-23 lead and following a pair of free throws from LMU's Simmons, Tre' Fields sank a 3-pointer from the right corner to regain the advantage for the Trojans.
The Trojans shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the opening 10 minutes, but then suffered a scoring drought of more than four minutes that enabled the Railsplitters to score 11 unanswered points as part of a 21-2 scoring outburst over the final 9:13 of the opening half. LMU held a 46-29 lead at the break.
A layup from Davis at the 12:26 mark of the second half pulled AU within 63-51, but the Trojans would get no closer the rest of the way.
The Trojans will conclude their season at Wingate on Saturday,
with tip-off from the Tar Heel State set for 4 p.m.
