HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Anderson men's basketball team opened a two-game South Atlantic Conference road swing by battling unbeaten and 11th-ranked Lincoln Memorial before falling, 84-73, Saturday night at Tex Turner Arena.

Anderson (10-6, 4-2 SAC) had its three-game win streak snapped, while Lincoln Memorial improved to 14-0 overall and 6-0 in league action.

The Trojans slow start enabled Lincoln Memorial to gain a 20-6 advantage with 11:43 left in the first half, but AU refused to surrender and rallied to pull within six points twice within the final two minutes of the half. The two teams went to the locker rooms with LMU holding a 39-33 edge.

Anderson chipped away, eventually taking its first lead of the contest at 52-50 at the 12:18 mark of the second frame on a driving layup by Kevis Cornwell. The lead changed hands three times over the next three minutes as the top two teams in the league battled for the advantage down the stretch.

LMU pushed back out to a 64-59 on an old-fashioned three-point play by the Railsplitters D'Mario Curry with 7:17 left, but AU answered with a free throw from Kevis Cornwell and a senior Oskars Ernsteins connected on a 3-pointer to rally the Trojans within one, but it was as close as Anderson would get, as the Railsplitters pushed back to a double-digit lead in the final moments.
Anderson was led in scoring by Trey Britton and Nick Trull, each notching 14 points. Taylor Shugart led the Trojans with nine rebounds.

Curry scored a game-high 30 points and recorded 15 rebound, while Cam Carden notched 18 points on six 3-pointers. Darryl Garret and Desmond Johnson also finished with double-digits with 12 and 10 respectively.

Anderson wraps up the road trip with a visit back to Tennessee on Wednesday when the Trojans square off against Tusculum College. Tip-off in Greeneville, Tenn., is sscheduled for 8 p.m.