JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Seniors Trevon Shaw and Emanuel Terry combined for 57 points as the No. 3 Railsplitters (16-1, 10-0 SAC) obliterated the 18th-ranked Carson-Newman Eagles (15-3, 7-3 SAC) 108-69 on Wednesday night inside of Holt Fieldhouse.

In the 205th all-time meeting between the long-time rivals, Lincoln Memorial snapped Carson-Newman’s 15-game home winning streak while handing the Eagles their most lopsided loss ever at Holt Fieldhouse.

The Railsplitters dominated every phase of the game to extend their regular-season road winning streak to 15 games and South Atlantic Conference winning streak to 24. Lincoln Memorial shot 58 percent and buried 18 3-pointers on a 53 percent clip. On the other side of the floor, the Railsplitters limited the Eagles to 34 percent shooting and an 8-for-29 effort from three.

“It was one of those nights where we probably played as well as we could and they played less than their best,” LMU head coach Josh Schertz said. “I think our guys had a lot to do with that. That just happens sometimes. When two good teams hook up and one plays less than their best and the other plays at their apex, games can get out of hand. We’re certainly not 40 points better than Carson-Newman, but tonight we were.”

Shaw poured in 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting, which included eight 3-pointers. Terry added 27 points, 12 rebounds and a couple of highlight reel dunks that put the exclamation point on the Railsplitters’ third straight win over Carson-Newman.

Dorian Pinson finished just an assist shy of a triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, while Cornelius Taylor had 14 points and eight assists.

“The effort and attention to detail was through the roof,” Schertz added. “It was a really good performance. We didn’t really have any lulls. It was consistent and we sustained it for 40 minutes. Overall, that was as well as we have played all year in terms of the opponent, the atmosphere and our level of play.”

Lincoln Memorial made life nearly impossible for Carson-Newman offensively, and that was most apparent in the play of the SAC’s leading scorer and reigning Player of the Year Charles Clark. Clark scored a team-leading 21 points, but finished just 5-for-16 from the floor and was a minus-39 in his 40 minutes of action.

Taylor was matched up on Clark for most of the contest and gave the SAC’s third all-time leading scorer fits all night.

“Cornelius did an incredible job,” Schertz said. “His effort, stamina and energy guarding him, he was just relentless and magnificent individually defensively. But you can’t guard Charles Clark with one guy – it’s got to be a team effort. When you play him you have to be on high alert every time he touches it. I thought we did a terrific job on him.”

Malik Abraham and Shaun Jones were the only other Eagles to crack double figures, scoring 12 apiece on a combined 10-for-26 shooting.

The Railsplitters set the tone right from the jump, using a jumper from Pinson and a bucket by Shaw to assume a lead that they would never relinquish. After Carson-Newman tied the game at 4-4, Lincoln Memorial pitched in seven unanswered points to take an 11-4 lead with 15 minutes left in the half.

The Eagles were able to cut the deficit to five on a bucket at the 12:46 mark but went scoreless for the next four minutes as the Railsplitters extended the lead to 26-9 with a 12-0 run.

LMU’s lead hovered in that vicinity until a barrage of 3-pointers, including back-to-back threes from Pinson and Josh Odem, made it a 39-19 game.

The Railsplitters, who shot 57 percent and buried nine 3-pointers in the half while holding Carson-Newman to 37 percent shooting and a 3-for-13 effort from three, led by as many as 21 before taking a commanding 50-31 lead into the break.

Lincoln Memorial kept its foot on the gas pedal in the second half and quickly extended the lead to 67-38 on a triple from Shaw at the 14:18 mark. The Railsplitters’ lead only went up from there, hitting 35 at 79-44 on a jumper from Taylor with 10:16 left. The Railsplitters eventually built the lead to as many as 44 points before waltzing to the 108-69 win.

LMU went 21-for-36 from the field in the second half for a sizzling 58 percent clip.

Up Next

The Railsplitters finish off their three-game road trip on Saturday by paying the Catawba Indians a visit. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in Salisbury, North Carolina.