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ANDERSON, S.C. — The 20th-ranked Railsplitters rode a stifling defensive effort and a workman-like effort on the offensive end to a 61-52 victory over the Anderson University on Saturday. Lincoln Memorial University (18-4, 11-3 SAC) snapped a five-game losing streak to the Trojans with the win and remained locked in a three-way tie for second in the league standings with Carson-Newman and Anderson. The Trojans fell to 15-7 on the season and 11-3 in the league.

Both teams struggled from the floor in the opening half of play with a combined 40 points scored. LMU went into the break with a 22-18 advantage and extended that lead to as many as 16 in the second stanza. The Trojans cut the deficit to five in the waning minutes of regulation, however, the Railsplitters capped a wire-to-wire victory at the charity stripe in the final minute of play.

The combination of Jake Troyli and Vincent Bailey paced Lincoln Memorial to a dominating 28-10 advantage over the Trojans in the paint, as those two combined for 26 points. Troyli led all players with 16 points on six-of-13 shooting from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds to round out his stat ledger. Bailey nailed five of his six attempts to compile 10 points in the game and pitched in on the glass with four rebounds. Wally Jones also posted a strong outing in the LMU back court with 12 points on four-of-nine shooting.

Cam Carden and Lorenza Ross got in on the act with seven and six points respectively, with Carden matching Troyli’s rebound number with six in the contest. Despite only scoring four points, senior Dustin Craig spearheaded a 39-25 margin of victory on the glass with a game-high nine rebounds in only 18 minutes of action.

Chandler Hash paced Anderson with 13 points marked by a three-for-five effort from long range. Denzail Jones and Bo Holston tallied 10 points apiece as the only other players to reach double digits for Anderson. The Trojans were held to just an eight-for-22 effort from long range.

LMU went out to an early 8-0 lead with Troyli and Bailey scoring four points apiece. The Trojans cut the deficit back to four with a 4-0 run over the next few minutes of play, however, Wally Jones gave the Railsplitters a 12-5 lead with a layup at the 12:06 mark of the half.

Over the next seven minutes and nine seconds the two teams went dormant on the offensive end and combined for only eight points. The Trojans got a free throw from Holston with 4:57 to to in the half to climb within 14-11.The Railsplitters pushed their lead back to six, but two free throws from Hash and a three-pointer by D.J. McGowan made it 17-16 with 2:02 to play in the first. The two teams traded baskets before Wally Jones closed the half with a 3 to send LMU into the break leading 22-18.

The Railsplitters opened the first 6:15 of the second half by running out a 14-6 rally to take a 36-24 lead with 13:45 left in regulation. Lincoln Memorial continued to build on that lead, driving out to a 45-29 advantage on a pair of free throws from Chance Jones at the 11:07 mark. The Railsplitters continued to cling to a 15-point lead with a layup from Chance Jones at the 9:09 mark, however, the Trojans answered with a 9-0 run on the wings of three-consecutive three-pointers to cut the deficit to 47-41 with 6:44 to play.

The Railsplitters found a way to keep the Trojans at bay over the final six minutes. Bailey nailed a jumper at the 4:41 mark and Carden followed with a pair of free throws with 3:48 left on the clock to extend the ‘Splitters’ lead back to 10.

Two free throws from Hlston and a 3-pointer from Hash make it 55-50 with only 1:11 to play. However, Bailey slammed one home to end that Trojan run and the Railsplitters went a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe in the final minute to ice a 61-52 victory on the road.

The Railsplitters host rival Carson-Newman on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

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LINCOLN MEMORIAL (18-4, 11-3 SAC)

Jake Troyli 6-13 4-4 16, Wally Jones 4-9 2-2 12, Vincent Bailey 5-6 0-1 10, Cam Carden 2-8 2-3 7, Lorenza Ross 2-5 2-2 6, Chance Jones 1-2 2-2 4, Dustin Craig 2-3 0-0 4, Tim Pierce 0-1 2-2 2, Keenan Peterson 0-1 0-0 0, Curtis McMillion 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 14-16 61.

ANDERSON (15-7, 11-3 SAC)

Chandler Hash 3-8 4-4 13, Bo Holston 2-7 5-8 10, Denzail Jones 4-15 1-2 10, Myson Jones 3-7 0-0 8, Kyle Sledge 2-2 0-0 4, Chris Ross 2-5 0-1 4, D.J. McGowan 1-4 0-0 3, Rakish Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 10-15 52.

Lincoln Memorial…. 22 39 — 61

Anderson…………….. 18 34 — 52

3-point goals—Lincoln Memorial 3-17 (WJones 2-5, Carden 1-7, Ross 0-2, CJones 0-1, Pierce 0-1, Troyli 0-1); Anderson 8-22 (Hash 3-5, MJones 2-3, Holston 1-6, DJones 1-4, McGowan 1-4). Fouled out—Lincoln Memorial-None; Anderson-None. Rebounds—Lincoln Memorial 39 (Craig 9); Anderson 25 (Holston 5, MJones 5). Assists—Lincoln Memorial 5 (Carden 2, Ross 2); Anderson 8 (Hash 3, DJones 3). Total fouls—Lincoln Memorial 13, Anderson 13. Technical fouls—Lincoln Memorial-Troyli; Anderson-None. A-402.