HARROGATE, Tenn. — Second ranked Lincoln Memorial defeated Newberry 80-62 Saturday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.
The Wolves got on the board first as Marcus Ford hit a jumper with 18:50 left in the half. After the Railsplitters hit a couple of buckets, the Wolves got back-to-back buckets from QuanDaveon McCollum and Robin Bedford to take a 6-5 lead. They extended the lead to 8-5 when McCollum hit a hook shot in the lane. From there the Railsplitters took over, shooting 54.3 percent from the field, compared to 30.6 percent for Newberry. The Wolves went on a brief run late in the half when they scored four unanswered points to get within 15, but LMU finished the half hot to take a 19-point lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Wolves and Railsplitters exchanged buckets, with Newberry going on a 7-0 run that culminated with Brown drilling a three with 13:10 left to bring the Wolves to within 14.
Newberry went on another run late, outscoring the Railsplitters 9-4 over the final 2:04, with Brown going 5-6 from the line during the stretch. Robin Bedford hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds for Newberry to close out the game.
Inside the Box Score
• TJ Brown led the Wolves, scoring 22 points and pulling nine rebounds, narrowly missing the double-double. He played 31 minutes and was 3-6 from behind the arc and 5-8 from the free throw line.
• QuanDaveon McCollum had 12 points for Newberry along with eight rebounds. The junior was 5-10 from the field and perfect from the free throw line.
• Robin Bedford dished out a career-high four assists and nearly had a career-high in points, finishing with six points. He also pulled a pair of defensive rebounds for Newberry.