HARROGATE, TENN. – In a matchup between two Top 25 teams, the No. 12/16 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team suffered a 77-63 road loss to No. 2/4 Lincoln Memorial University inside Tex Turner Arena on Wednesday night.
 
The Royals (9-4, 8-3 SAC) opened the contest on a tear, scoring the game's first seven points, including five straight from redshirt-freshman Jamari Smith over the first 1:16 of play. The Railsplitters (15-1, 13-1 SAC) responded with seven unanswered points of their own to quickly tie the score at 7-all less than two minutes later.
 
A 3-pointer from junior Malcolm Stevenson, who returned to action following a six-game absence, put the Royals in front at 10-9 as the Queens' lead grew to double digits, 19-9, on a 3-pointer from junior Quan McCluney with 8:49 to play in the first half. Queens led by as much as 11 points down the stretch and carried a 30-23 lead into the halftime intermission.
 
The second half opened with a 13-4 run by Lincoln Memorial to take a two-point lead, 36-34, before Smith put the Royals back in front with a 3-pointer with 16:31 on the clock. A 3-pointer from LMU's Devin Whitfield, the leading score in the South Atlantic Conference, put the Railsplitters in front by two, 39-37, and they never trailed again in the game.
 
Queens tied the score twice, once at 48-48 on a layup from sophomore Gavin Rains and again at 50-50 on alayup from junior Kenny Dye, but the Railspliiters shot a staggering 55.9 percent from the floor and 52.6 percent from 3-point range in the second half to seal the home victory.
 
The Royals held LMU to nearly 20 points below their season average, but LMU hit 15 total 3-pointers, including 10 in the second half. Queens was 9-for-18 from deep, however, a 4-for-10 performance from the free throw line proved costly.
 
Smith led all scorers with 22 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range, to go along with eight rebounds, while Stevenson' return to the lineup produced 12 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
 
Rains had 12 points of his own and registered seven rebounds and three blocks, as Dye was the fourth Royal to finish in double figures with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
 
Queens returns to the court on Monday, Feb. 8 for the first of four games during the week, all inside Curry Arena. Monday's contest against Anderson University is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. on the Queens Sports Network.