HARROGATE, Tenn. --- A second-half surge by Lincoln Memorial University erased a seven-point deficit and gave the 12th-ranked Railsplitters an 82-77 victory over Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Thursday night at Tex Turner Arena.
Luquon Choice finished with a game-high 24 points while Jalen Steele added 19 points for the Railsplitters (15-2, 11-0 SAC), who went 9-for-17 from three-point range in the second half to offset 43.5 percent shooting (27-for-62) for the game. Gerel Simmons and Curtis Webb added 13 points apiece to help the Railsplitters build a two-game lead over Wingate in the SAC standings at the midpoint of the league schedule.
Darius Carter came close to a triple-double for the Pioneers (7-9, 3-8 SAC) as he finished with 18 points, a career-high nine rebounds and eight assists. Kendall Patterson added 15 points and five rebounds, and Chase Mounce posted his third double-double of the season and the 13th of his career with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Pioneers outshot the Railsplitters in the game, shooting 45.3 percent (29-for-64), but attempted just 10 free throws compared to 26 trips to the stripe for LMU.
There were seven ties and five lead changes in the first half, which saw the Railsplitters go on top 29-21 with 3:02 left in the first half before the Pioneers closed the half on a 12-3 run. Tusculum scored the final eight points of the half on a three-pointer by Patterson, a basket by Mounce and a three from Javon Price just before the buzzer to go ahead 33-32 at the break.
Mounce led the Pioneers with 10 points and four rebounds in the first half while Carter had seven points and seven rebounds. Choice was the top scorer for the Railsplitters in the first half with 12 points, with Steele adding 10 points and four rebounds. Both teams shot exactly 40 percent from the field in the first half, despite LMU shooting 3-for-15 from three-point range as a team.
After scoring the last eight points of the first half, the Pioneers extended their run to 14-0 by scoring the first six points of the second half to take their largest lead at 39-32 on a basket by Matt Shown with 17:46 to play. The Pioneers continued to lead 46-40 after a jumper by Mounce with 14:20 left, but a three-pointer by Webb jumpstarted an 8-0 run that gave the Railsplitters a 48-46 lead with 12:09 remaining.
Following a layup by the Pioneers' Zach Davis that tied the game at 48-48 with 11:56 left, the Railsplitters used a 20-5 run over the next 4 1/2 minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 68-53. Steele hit two three-pointers during the run while Choice and Webb added buckets from long range during the LMU surge. Tusculum was able to bring the margin back to four points at 75-71 thanks to three-pointers from Patterson and Vincent Brown, but the Railsplitters went 8-for-12 from the foul line in the final 1:18 to seal the victory.
As a team, the Pioneers were a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line, marking the first time in nearly six years that the Pioneers made 10 or more foul shots in a game without missing. The last time was a 13-for-13 effort against Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 1, 2010, while the school record is 14-for-14 which was set against Clinch Valley (UVa-Wise) in 1995. The Pioneers also went 9-for-20 from three-point range and received 18 points from its bench in the game.
Patterson finished the game 5-for-7 from the field for the Pioneers, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. He added five assists and a steal in 31 minutes of action, and is averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists over the last four games. Mounce reached double figures for the 14th time in 16 games this season, and is averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the last four contests for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers are back home on Saturday to welcome Catawba to Pioneer Arena for a 4 p.m. tipoff. The Pioneers lost on the road to the Indians by a score of 82-78 on December 5.
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