LMU takes two from the Tusculum Pioneers

Stuart Miller recorded 21 points to lead the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team to a 67-52 South Atlantic Conference victory at Tusculum College Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.

LMU's D'Mario Curry had an outstanding night for the visitors as he posted a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds to go along with a game-high six blocked shots.

Tusculum's Kyle Moore led the Pioneers (6-7, 1-2 SAC) with his game-high 22 points, while establishing a new school record as he went 6-of-7 at the foul line to give him 358 career free throws made, surpassing the previous mark held by former All-SAC forward Tim McPhail (356 from 1996-2000).

TC's Rob Troutman added 14 points, shooting 10-of-11 from the free throw line, while Josh Bennett finished with five markers and a team-high eight rebounds in the loss.

In a battle between two of the top defensive squads in the league, the Railsplitters (11-2, 2-1 SAC) limited Tusculum to shoot on 29.2 percent in the contest, including 6-of-23 in the opening half as LMU led 38-24 at the intermission.

LMU, who never trailed in the contest, opened the game with a 15-4 run in the first seven minutes and led by as many as 17 (31-14) following a three-pointer by Brandon Armstrong with 6:02 led in the period.

In the first 20 minutes, the Railsplitters blistered the nets from long-range as they shot 7-of-10 from three-point territory, including three treys by Millers as he finished with 15 points at the break.

Tusculum whittled the LMU led to 10 points following a three-pointer by Moore with 16:27 left in the contest. The Railsplitters would not allow Tusculum to cut the deficit to single digits as LMU pushed its advantage back to 17 (54-37) following a Curry lay-up as he single-handedly put together a 5-0 run.

TC trimmed the deficit back to 10 points with an 11-4 spurt capped off by a Wes Taylor lay-up with 3:26 remaining. But LMU would can its next eight free throws, including four by Miller as he finished shooting 8-of-8 from the foul line.

Tusculum limited the top field goal shooting team to only 39.2 percent shooting on the night, far below their 50.1 percent shooting entering the game. But LMU commanded the glass, out-rebounding Tusculum by a 43-28 margin. LMU entered the game fifth in the country in rebounding margin (+11.4).

The Pioneers return to action Saturday afternoon as they host Catawba College in a rematch of last year's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship. LMU, winners of eight of its last nine, will host SAC leader Brevard College on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.

The Lincoln Memorial University women's basketball team overcame a 39-32 halftime deficit on Wednesday night to defeat Tusculum College 74-72 in South Atlantic Conference action at Pioneer Arena, snapping the Pioneers' 29-game home winning streak.

Tusculum (7-5, 1-2 SAC) out-rebounded the Lady Railsplitters (3-9, 1-2 SAC) 52-43 in a closely contested game in which neither team posted a field goal percentage over 40 percent. LMU connected on 39.4 percent of its attempts from the floor on the night, including a 41.4 clip in the second half, while the Pioneers posted a final field goal percentage of 35.9 after connecting on 40.5 percent of their shots in the first half.

Three players scored in double figures for the Railsplitters, led by a pair of 17-point performances by Dayshalee Salaman and Carolyn Mills. Amberly O'Dell chipped in 10 points as Salaman and Mills posted game-highs of five assists and four blocks, respectively.

Four Pioneers scored in double figures, led by All-American Jasmine Gunn's game-high 18 points. Kat Spears nearly posted a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Staci Hicks chipped in a double-double of her own with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Catherine Hintz poured in 10 points and joined Spears and Gunn with nine rebounds of her own. Spears also recorded three blocks on the night to move within two rejections of tying Candace Combs for second on the program's all-time list, currently sitting third with 123 career blocked shots.

Both teams started off slow in the first half, combining for 12 points in the first five minutes before Tusculum launched a 14-4 run to break a 6-6 tie, and jump out to a 20-10 lead on Spears' jumper with 9:50 remaining in the first half. The Pioneers would register their largest lead of the game at 26-13 on a jumper by Jasmine Parker at the 8:04 mark, before LMU cut the lead to 30-23 on back-to-back jumpers by Mills. Tusculum would push the lead out to 36-25 on a pair of free throws by Kendal Baxter with two minutes left, before Lincoln Memorial launched a 7-3 spurt to close out the half and cut the lead to 39-32 heading into the intermission.

Tusculum began the second half strong, pushing the lead to 11 on a pair of occasions early in the period before Lincoln Memorial launched a furious 10-2 run to tie the score at 48-48 on a jumper by Cena Nasiloski with 11:28 to play. Tusculum would reclaim the lead for much of the next seven minutes before LMU took its first lead since the 17:56 mark of the first half on a jumper by Dean Kikwiki-Mamuku with 4:39 to play, which gave the Railsplitters a 64-63 advantage.

Lincoln Memorial's Whitney Holmes then gave the Railsplitters their largest lead of the game with a free throw at the 3:42 mark, pushing the margin to 67-64 before the Pioneers reclaimed the lead at 68-67 on back-to-back buckets by Hintz and Brittni Oliver with less than a minute and a half to go. After LMU's Salaman made a layup and TC's Gunn converted a pair of free throws to swap the lead, Mills hit perhaps the biggest shot of the night, connecting on a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to give LMU a 72-70 lead.

Then Gunn, Tusculum's All-American point guard, responded with a clutch running jumper to tie the score at 72-72 with five seconds left, giving LMU one final possession to try for the win. Salaman took the inbound and drove the ball quickly up the court, slashing into the lane and drawing a foul with less than a second left, sending the guard to the line with a chance to win the game. Salaman connected on both free throw attempts, sealing the Railsplitters' first win over the Pioneers since 2005.

Tusculum returns to the court on Saturday when the Pioneers host Catawba College in the second game of its four-game homestand. Tip-off for the SAC clash is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Pioneer Arena.