Big Second Half Lifts LMU over Mars Hill

MARS HILL, N.C.-Eighth-ranked Lincoln Memorial used a big second half to pull away from Mars Hill and earn a 91-66 victory at Stanford Arena Wednesday night. With the victory, LMU improves to 21-2 overall, 11-2 in the SAC, while the Lions fall to 4-18 overall, 2-11 in conference play.

Lincoln Memorial broke open a 38-all tie in the second half with two big runs to put the game out of reach. The Railsplitters got scoring from all over, with four players scoring in double figures. LMU was led by Desmond Johnson, who scored 19 points on an efficient 7-of-8 shooting. Vincent Bailey and Brandon Armstrong chipped in 17 points apiece. Mars Hill was led by Sammy Emile with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Khouraichi Thiam added a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

LMU wasted no time in turning a tied game at the half into a lead, opening the second half on a 10-0 run. The run was bookended by threes from Bailey and Chance Jones, with Johnson providing inside punch with a lay up and dunk. Johnson and company helped LMU own a 50-30 advantage in the paint. The Lions would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way, due in large part to hot shooting by LMU. The Railsplitters connected on 21-of-32 (65.6 percent) of their field goal attempts in the second half, and shot a crisp 56.5 percent (35-of-62) on the night.

A second run in the second half by the Railsplitters put the game out of reach. After Austin Patton found Terrell Harris for a transition dunk to cut the score to 60-50 with 9:41 to play, LMU ripped off 13 straight points to open up a 73-50 lead with 6:23 to play. Armstrong knocked down a pair of transition threes and Bailey added four points during the stretch. The Railsplitters outscored the Lions 19-8 in transition on the night. LMU led by as many as 27 before the final horn sounded.

The Lions jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead to start the contest. Thiam scored four points during the quick start, which was bookended by threes from Emile and JaShawn Anderson. The Railsplitters fought their way back behind strong efforts from Johnson and Wally Jones and regained a 26-25 lead on a Jake Troyli lay-up with 8:08 to play in the first half. The LMU bench keyed the comeback effort in the first half, outscoring their Lion counterparts 22-12. The Lions closed the half with buckets by Harris and Noble Cunningham to knot the score at 38-38 going into the break.

Mars Hill will be in action again Saturday afternoon at Brevard, with tip-off set for 4:00 p.m.