GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Gerel Simmons scored a game-high 34 points as fourth-ranked Lincoln Memorial University held on to defeat Tusculum College 103-92 in a South Atlantic Conference men's basketball game at Pioneer Arena on Wednesday night.

Simmons scored 22 of his 34 points in the first half for the Railsplitters (21-2, 17-0 SAC), who led by as many as 15 points in the second half before the Pioneers used outside shooting to cut the deficit to seven in the closing minutes. Simmons went 12-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, and hit 7-of-8 from the foul line in the win.

Javon Price came off the bench to drill six three-pointers and score a career-high 30 points for the Pioneers (10-12, 6-11 SAC), who also received 17 points apiece from Darius Carter and Zach Davis in the loss to the Railsplitters. Chase Mounce had nine points and eight rebounds for Tusculum, but fouled out with 5:11 left as Lincoln Memorial finished 27-for-34 from the foul line as a team, including 22-for-28 in the second half alone.

Five players reached double figures for Lincoln Memorial, including Dorian Pinson who had 22 points and eight rebounds. Luquon Choice tallied 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Jalen Steele and Curtis McMillion had 13 points apiece for the Railsplitters, who shot 52.3 percent (34-for-65) from the field and hit 8-of-19 from three-point range in the contest.

Price shot 11-for-15 from the field, including 6-for-9 from three-point range, to surpass his career high of 29 points set against Brevard on Jan. 7, 2015. His six three-pointers were a season high and two shy of his single-game best set in the aforementioned game against Brevard. Price scored 23 of his 30 points in the second half, including five of his six three-pointers.

Tusculum had early leads of 3-2 and 5-4, the latter coming on a dunk by Mounce, before back-to-back three-pointers from Choice and Simmons pushed Lincoln Memorial on top 10-5 with five minutes gone in the game. The Pioneers tied the score 12-12 on a layup by Davis, only to see LMU go on an 11-2 run that included two three-pointers from Steele and one from Simmons.

The Railsplitters led by as many as 10 points at 27-17 before the Pioneers pulled within two at 34-32 on a jumper by Price with 5:23 left in the half. Tusculum trailed 36-34 with 3:16 remaining in the half, but Simmons scored eight of Lincoln Memorial's final nine points of the half to send the Railsplitters to the locker room with a 47-36 lead.

Simmons shot 10-for-13 from the field and 2-for-3 from long range in the first half for Lincoln Memorial, which shot 18-for-36 as a team and hit 6-for-13 from beyond the arc. Cory Fagan was the leading scorer in the first half for Tusculum with eight points, while Davis and Price had seven apiece. The Pioneers shot 36.4 percent (12-for-33) as a team but went 6-for-13 from three-point range and 6-for-6 at the foul line in the half.

Tusculum pulled within eight early in the second half on a basket by Davis, but Pinson scored nine of the Railsplitters' next 11 points to give Lincoln Memorial a 59-47 lead with 15:39 to go. A three-pointer by Price capped a 7-0 Tusculum run which brought the Pioneers within 61-54 with 13:37 to go, and another three-pointer from Price cut the deficit to 64-59 with 12:05 remaining.

After a mini-run pushed the Railsplitter advantage back to 11 points at 74-63 with 10:08 left, the Pioneers got back within seven at 74-67 on a breakaway dunk by Price with 8:46 left. However, McMillion converted a three-point play, Simmons hit a three-pointer and then added two free throws during a spurt that gave LMU an 82-68 lead with 7:03 on the clock.

The Railsplitters would stretch the lead out to 15 on several occasions, including 91-76 on a Pinson layup with 2:@9 to play, but the Pioneers were again able to creep within single digits as Price hit a three-pointer with 52 seconds left to bring Tusculum within 94-86. LMU was able to put the game away at the foul line, hitting seven of their eight attempts in the final minute.

Carter's 17 points increased his career total to 1,218 points, tying him with Pat Compton (1999-03) for 14th place on the Tusculum career scoring list. Carter also went 8-for-9 at the foul line, moving him with 21 of the school record for career foul shots of 447 set by Kyle Moore from 2007-10.

Both teams finished with 41 rebounds and 14 second-chance points in the game, but the Railsplitters had a 50-32 advantage in points in the paint. Tusculum committed just 10 turnovers, but LMU converted the miscues into 20 points. Kendall Patterson had a team-high five assists for the Pioneers to go along with five rebounds and zero turnovers in 27 minutes.

Tusculum remains one game ahead of Mars Hill in the South Atlantic Conference standings with five games left on the conference schedule. The Pioneers will host Coker (7-14, 3-14 SAC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Pioneer Arena, looking to avenge an 81-66 road loss on December 19.

- TC -