HARROGATE, TENN. — It was a late nine point run in the last 11 minutes of the second half that snapped the Cavalier's momentum against the No. 10-ranked Railsplitters on Wednesday, Dec. 15, falling 97-63.

In the first half, The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (9-1, 6-1 SAC) were able to strike first with a three-pointer — a skill they have polished this season, hitting over fifty percent in their last four matchups. Tyler Lloyd of the UVA Wise Cavaliers (1-10, 0-8 SAC) came up with a shot of his own to even out the score. Over ten minutes of play, the Cavs were keeping up with the nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial squad quite easily as they only trailed by two points at the 3:55 mark. The Cavs had outscored their opponent from the field (46.7% vs. 42.5%) But a late back-to-back scoring sequence by Lincoln Memorial led by previous South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Jordan Guest put the Cavs down by eight at the break. 

The second half brought a more-aggressive Lincoln Memorial team from the field, connecting on 19 of 34 shots on the court. Matthew Sells of the Railsplitters was a deadringer from the arc, accounting for five daggers in the second half. Teammate Chase Rankin hit five threes of his own and hit eight of 13 from the field, and their performance had ultimately decided the game's outcome with under 12 minutes to go. 

With the Cavs down by nine, Pettiford grabbed his third foul of the night and put Martez Brown to the line. Brown sank both, and the Railsplitters stole the ball to put in a fast-break layup. After a questionable Honaker foul, Sells bucketed the free-throw shot and Lincoln Memorial went up 14. Two back-to-back jumpers by Rankin gave the Railsplitter's a 19 point lead, and the deficit was too hard to overcome for the Cavaliers. With less than a minute to go, a Brown layup had put Lincoln Memorial ahead 34 and closed the door on the night with a 97-63 win.

Lloyd led the night with 22 points, a career-high for the 6-5 junior guard. Rankin of the Railsplitters trailed behind Lloyd with 21 points - one of six Lincoln Memorial players who scored in double-digits in the matchup. 

The Cavs ended the night shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from the arc. On Lincoln Memorial's side, the squad went 48.6 percent from the field and shot 42.2 percent from downtown.

Next, the Cavs play the Catawba Indians in Salisbury, N.C. on Saturday, Dec. 18 for the Cav's last game of 2021.