HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Riding the longest winning streak in the nation and aiming to tie the second-best start to a season in the 105-year history of the men's basketball program, the No.2 Railsplitters (14-0, 8-0 SAC) host the floundering Tusculum Pioneers (1-12, 1-7 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's hoops action on Wednesday evening at Tex Turner Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Harrogate, Tenn.
 
Lincoln Memorial earned its 14th straight victory in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon, stifling the Wingate Bulldogs 81-62 in Wingate, N.C. The Railsplitters finished 28-for-53 from the field (52.8 percent), matched a season high with 11 three-pointers on only 18 attempts, and limited the home unit to just 38 percent shooting with a 1-for-7 mark from deep. It was a slugfest early on, with the two teams playing to a 19-19 stalemate through the first 11:30. But a 24-7 run, capped by a Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) trey at the 18:14 mark of the second half, gave the Railsplitters a commanding 43-26 cushion. LMU never led by less than 13 points for the remainder of regulation. Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) led all players with a season high 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting with a career best six three-pointers.
 
The Railsplitters have thrived on both ends of the floor, ranking first in the nation in field-goal percentage defense while ranking ninth in field-goal percentage. Lincoln Memorial is shooting the rock at a 51.7 percent clip while relinquishing just a 36.4 percent mark. The Railsplitters have not won a game by less than 12 points since a narrow 79-71 over Coker back on December 6. Over that span, LMU has shot better than 52 percent in five of its six games, while only one of its six opponents have topped 39 percent shooting. Opponents are having an immensely tough time producing from behind the three-point arc against the Railsplitters, who rank second in the nation in three-point field-goal defense with a 25.2 percent clip.
 
LMU's opponent, the Tusculum Pioneers, arrives in Harrogate hoping to snap an eight game losing streak, the fifth-longest current skid in the nation. Opponents are outscoring the Pioneers by nearly 12 points per game this season, but it hasn't been so easy since the calendar turned to 2015. Tusculum held a 12-point lead over second-place Newberry on January 3 before ultimately falling 88-80 on the road. Four days later, Brevard rallied from a 13-point deficit to upend the Pioneers 81-79. On Saturday, Lenoir-Rhyne needed two overtime periods to put away the Pioneers 88-85 in Greeneville, Tenn. 
 
The Pioneers have been searching for offensive consistency all season, scoring just 68.5 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting. Tusculum averages seven three-pointers per game with a 35.4 percent mark from long range. The Pioneers are among the bottom of the nation in terms of scoring defense, ranking 263th out of 294 Division II squads by allowing 80.2 points per game. Opponents are shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 35 percent from three versus Tusculum.
 
Sophomore Chase Mounce leads the Tusculum attack, sitting among the top five in the South Atlantic Conference in both points and rebounds per game. The 6-10 center is averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on a sizzling 56.5 percent clip. Junior Javon Price is factoring in 15.4 points on 3.5 three-pointers per game, while Zach Davis and Cory Fagan are contributing right at nine points per appearance. Matt Shown is filling up the stat sheet with 6.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
 
Wednesday will be the 166th meeting all-time between the Railsplitters and Pioneers, which stands as one of the longest running rivalries in the history of Tennessee collegiate hoops. The Railsplitters own a 13-3 advantage over the Pioneers since joining the SAC for the 2006-07 season. All three of those losses came early in that tenure, though, as Lincoln Memorial has won 13 straight over the Pioneers. LMU hasn't lost to Tusculum since suffering a 74-71 setback in Greeneville, Tenn. on February 4, 2009.
 
The Railsplitters are trying to match the 2011-12 team for the second-longest winning streak to open a season in program history with 15 consecutive wins. The 2010-11 squad claims the longest winning streak to start a season in program history as they reeled off a South Atlantic Conference record 22 straight wins.
 
Tip-off between LMU and Tusculum is slated for 8 p.m. Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena. Live stats and an HD video broadcast – compliments of the LMU Sports Network – will be available via www.LMURailsplitters.com. Fans can also listen along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace at WLMU 91.3 the Gap.

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