ANDERSON, S.C. – Using a big second half, the No. 1-ranked Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team outpaced Anderson, 88-58, in South Atlantic Conference action, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson (7-16, 5-10 SAC) suffered its fourth straight setback, while Lincoln Memorial improved to 22-1 overall and 16-0 in the league with its 11th consecutive victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior guard Gage Ellis led all scorers with 21 points and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, while junior forward Jeremy Bouton notched his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior center Rakish Taylor added nine points and four rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The score was tied four times and there were three lead changes inside the first seven minutes of action, but the Railsplitters used a 19-3 run, including nine unanswered points, to erase a 10-8 Trojan lead and claim a double-digit, 27-13 advantage with 5:07 left in the first half.
Still trailing by 13 points at the 4:01 mark, the Trojans responded by scoring eight straight points to slash the deficit to just 29-24 with 1:23 on the clock, as Ellis sparked the surge with two free throws and added two more from the line to cap the run.
Lincoln Memorial countered with six consecutive points over the next 63 seconds, but Bouton connected on a 3-pointer from midcourt as the horn sounded to set the halftime score at 35-27.
Second Half
The Railsplitters opened the second stanza with 10 straight points before Ellis slowed the run with a layup at the 15:40 mark. However, LMU steadily built its largest lead of the contest, 75-42, with more than seven minutes on the clock and maintained the comfortable margin the rest of the way.
NOTABLES
• Lincoln Memorial won the rebounding battle, 45-36.
• The Trojans forced 10 turnovers, but committed 17 miscues.
• AU continued its accuracy from the charity stripe, going 22-of-28 (78.6%) from the line.
UP NEXT
The Trojans open a three-game conference road swing at Newberry on Saturday. AU will be looking for a sweep of the regular-season series after edging the Wolves, 81-79, in mid-December at the Abney Center. Tip-off versus the Wolves is set for 4 p.m.