HARROGATE, Tenn. --- Devin Whitfield scored a game-high 28 points and second-ranked Lincoln Memorial University shot 60 percent from the field on its way to a 103-82 victory over 24th-ranked Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Tex Turner Arena.

Xavier Bledson had 16 points and eight assists off the bench for the Railsplitters (6-0, 4-0 SAC), who placed five players in double figures and cracked the 100-point plateau for the third straight game. Julius Brown contributed 17 points, Cameron Henry scored 15 points and Jeremiah Keene had 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench for LMU, which shot 60.3 percent (35-for-58) from the field as a team.

Trenton Gibson led the Pioneers (3-1, 3-1 SAC) with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists and Keaston Brown added a career-high 14 points for Tusculum, which was playing its first game as a ranked team in the NABC Division II poll since the start of the 2009-10 season. Joshua Scott reached double figures for the Pioneers with 13 points and five rebounds, but Tusculum shot 45.7 percent (32-for-70) from the field and committed 21 turnovers which led to 31 Lincoln Memorial points. The Pioneers went 9-for-11 from the foul line in the game, while the Railsplitters shot 24-for-36 from the stripe.

Whitfield, the reigning SAC Player of the Week, scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half and finished 10-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-7 from three-point range, while hitting all five of his foul shots for the Railsplitters. Whitfield also grabbed seven rebounds to share the team high with Jordan Guest as LMU outrebounded Tusculum 38-30.

The Pioneers led twice in the first five minutes, holding a 6-5 lead before the Railsplitters ran off nine straight points to go ahead 14-6 with 12:32 left in the first half. Two foul shots from Bledson extended LMU's lead to 27-12 with 8:46 to play in the half, but Tusculum was able to whittle the margin down to 38-30 on two free throws from Gibson with 1:27 left in the half. A steal and layup by Bledson just before the buzzer sent the Railsplitters to the locker room with a 44-30 lead.

Bledson led LMU with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting in the first half as the Railsplitters connected on 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the field and 7-for-13 at the foul line as a team. Whitfield and Henry each had eight points in the first half for the Railsplitters. Scott led Tusculum with eight points and four rebounds in the opening half, but the Pioneers hit just 40.6 percent (13-for-32) from the floor and 2-for-9 from long range while committing 13 turnovers.

Whitfield took over for the Railsplitters in the second half, hitting his first six shots from the field and scoring 10 points in the first 8 1/2 minutes of the half as LMU built a 67-44 lead with 11:41 to go. A three-pointer from Keene gave the Railsplitters their largest lead at 80-51 with 8:57 to play.

Not to be outdone, Gibson connected on his first six shots from the field in the second half and racked up 16 of his 21 points over the first 11 minutes of the half. Tusculum improved to 50 percent (19-for-38) from the floor in the second half and hit seven three-pointers in 16 tries.

Tusculum's bench finished the game with a 32-30 edge in scoring over the Lincoln Memorial reserves. DyQuavis Wilkins finished with seven points, Adrian Cohen had six points and Inady Legiste had six points while matching his season high with seven rebounds. Justin Mitchell scored seven points off the bench for the Pioneers, with Zack Dixon contributing five points and Makai Olden one point on a free throw in the final minute.

Tusculum is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at Pioneer Arena against rival Carson-Newman. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.