HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The 13th-ranked Railsplitters (5-0) briefly step away from South Atlantic Conference play and kick off a five-game homestand against the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs (4-4) at Tex Turner Arena on Saturday, November 29. Lincoln Memorial and Tennessee Wesleyan tip off at 4 p.m. in Harrogate, Tenn.
Saturday marks the 113th meeting all-time between the Railsplitters and Bulldogs. Lincoln Memorial owns a narrow 63-49 advantage in the series as the two teams shared the same conference for 50-plus years prior to LMU's transition to the NCAA Division II.
An NAIA member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference, Tennessee Wesleyan takes to the Tex Turner Arena floor looking for their first win since November 15. The margin between winning and losing has been slim for the Bulldogs over that four-game skid as they have finished on the losing side of 2, 4, 4 and 8 point games during that stretch. Most recently, TWC suffered a 95-87 setback to 16th-ranked Union College on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs are racking up 81.8 points per game while shooting at a 45.1 percent clip for the season, but their opponents are pitching in 76.4 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting. Tennessee Wesleyan averages 7.5 made three-pointer per contest.
Devante Jenkins leads the Bulldogs with 14.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per appearance, while Stephen Kite, Jr. is contributing 14.4 points per game with a team-leading 17 three-pointers. Justin Simmons has accounted for 11 points per game in his seven outings, and Derek Triplett is averaging 8.3 points and 3.4 points per game. Leland Robinson, Dante Turnipseed and Hayden Mosley are all adding at least seven points per game.
The Railsplitters have not dropped a nonconference contest at Tex Turner Arena since the first season under
Josh Schertz's direction, logging 30 straight wins in Harrogate over non-SAC foes. Lincoln Memorial's last home nonconference loss was a 76-74 overtime setback to Ohio Valley on December 9, 2008.
Lincoln Memorial is off to its fourth 5-0 start in the past five seasons thanks to the efforts of
Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.),
Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) and
Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) in Tuesday's 65-61 win at Anderson. That trio combined for 55 of the team's 65 points as the Railsplitters outlasted the Trojans down the stretch. Choice matched his season-high with 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting from deep, while Ross pitched in 18 points and five assists on 7-for-11 shooting. Simmons contributed a season-best 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
While the backcourt duo of Choice and Ross have delivered consistent performances and proved capable of carrying the load offensively, combining for 37.2 points per game, the Railsplitters are still looking to find a stable presence in the paint. Lincoln Memorial has gotten only two double-digit scoring games from its front court through five games, a 19-point outburst by
Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) in the season opener versus Lees-McRae and 12 points by
Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) in the SAC opener against Mars Hill. McMillion and
Paul Woodson (Cincinnati, Ohio) are the only post players to average better than 17 minutes per appearance. A forward has led the Railsplitters in scoring in each of the last six seasons, while there has been only one season over that same span in which the team's top two scorers were not post players (2013-14).
The Railsplitters have compensated for that lack of a consistent inside scorer by shooting the rock at a historic clip from beyond the three-point arc. Through five games, Lincoln Memorial has knocked down 35 of its 74 three-point attempts for an eye-popping 47.3 percent, a mark that would shatter the program's previous single-season record of 40.3 percent from the 2012-13 campaign. Choice has accounted for 26 of those 35 trifectas as he is on pace to bury 145 three-pointers by the conclusion of the regular season. The school's current record holder, David Hopper, hit 90 during the 1990-91 season.
Saturday's contest is the first of five games that the Railsplitters will play in Tex Turner Arena over the next two and half weeks, a stretch that culminates with a looming SAC showdown with Newberry on December 15.
The Railsplitters and Bulldogs are slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off on Saturday in Harrogate, Tenn. Live stats and video will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, and fans are also encouraged to tune in to WLMU 91.3 The Gap to listen along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace.
