HARROGATE, Tenn. — Tuesday evening’s season-opener for the Railsplitter men’s basketball team was an impressive outing to say the least. Despite dressing five NCAA Division I transfers, the Railsplitters rolled over visiting Tennessee Temple University 87-65 to improve to 1-0 on the year.

LMU came out strong in the first half with a solid inside attack from sophomore preseason all-conference forward Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.) and sophomore reserve Brandon O’Brien (Stone Mountain, Ga.). Each scored eight points in the first 20 minutes of play while junior First Team All-South Atlantic Conference forward D’Mario Curry (Detroit, Mich.) came in off the bench to contribute seven first half points and six rebounds.

As the second half got underway, the LMU offense became the Stuart Miller (Harrogate, Tenn.) show. Miller scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half on 6-12 shooting from the field, including 4-8 shots behind the 3-point line and by hitting 8-9 free throws.

Johnson didn’t back off offensively due to Miller’s outside shooting however, as he pumped in another 12 points in the second half and was a dominant force on the boards, pulling down 10 rebounds for the game to lead all players in the category.

Curry finished the game with 11 points and nine boards to help seal the win for the Railsplitters.

With their first game and win now under their belts, the Railsplitters have several days to prepare for a much improved Hiwassee College basketball team. This Friday evening LMU plays host to Hiwassee in their first game of the DeBusk/Burchett Holiday Classic at 8 p.m. in Turner Arena. Saturday’s action will feature the Railsplitters taking on NCAA Division II opponent Concord College of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 4 p.m.