HARROGATE, Tenn. --- In a battle for first place in the South Atlantic Conference, D'Mario Curry recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team to a thrilling 65-62 win over visiting Tusculum College Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
LMU (17-4, 7-3 SAC) sweeps the season series over the Pioneers (12-9, 6-4 SAC), while halting TC's four-game winning streak.
Tusculum's Kyle Moore led all scorers with 24 points, to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. Josh Bennett added 16 points, while Justin Steigerwald finished with five points, six assists and a career-high 10 boards in the loss.
LMU was led in scoring by Stuart Miller as he accounted for 15 points and four assists, while Desmond Johnson tallied 10 markers in the victory.
In the first half, the contest looked to be heading towards a rout as the Railsplitters raced out to a 31-14 advantage with 5:23 remaining in the first half, following a lay-up by Brandon Armstrong as he scored two of his nine points in the contest.
But despite having two of their starters with three fouls each (Jimmy Boone, Tommy Klempin), and LMU shooting a blistering 16-of-19 from the free throw line in the half, the Pioneers mounted a furious rally. Tusculum erased the 17-point deficit utilizing a 22-4 run over a span 4:15 to lead 36-35, following a steal and a lay-up by Steigerwald with 1:08 left before halftime. TC would add a Rob Troutman jumper to carry a 38-35 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the game would be a see-saw affair that saw four ties and seven lead changes in the final 20 minutes. Tusculum led 52-51 following a pair of Bennett free throws with 7:30 remaining. LMU went on a 9-2 spurt, sparked by a three-pointer and lay-up by Wally Jones and a pair of buckets by Johnson as the Railsplitters led 60-54 with 3:46 remaining.
With LMU leading 63-56 with 1:24 left on the clock, Moore connected on his third trey of the night, 21 seconds later to bring his squad back to within four (63-59). LMU increased its advantage to six (65-59) following a pair of Miller free throws with 32 seconds left. The Pioneers still had life as Troutman buried a three-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock and LMU's Cameron Carden turned the ball over three seconds later.
But Troutman's game-tying trey was off the mark and rebounded by Armstrong with two seconds left. TC still had a glimmer of hope as Armstrong was fouled and missed both of his free throws, but Moore's three-point heave from 70-feet away was deflect, preserving the LMU win.
LMU finished the game shooting 43.2 percent for the game, including 11-of-20 (55%) in the second half. The Railsplitters finished the game shooting 23-of-36 (63.9%) from the foul line, but only 7-of-17 (41.2%) in the final 20 minutes.
Tusculum returns to action Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers travel to Catawba College for a 4 p.m. contest in Salisbury, N.C. TC defeated Catawba 59-50 in the season's first encounter.
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