HARROGATE, Tenn. -- One of the oldest rivalries in the state of Tennessee will be renewed on Tuesday at 8 p.m. when the fifth-ranked Railsplitters (2-1) welcome the Carson-Newman Eagles (2-2) to Tex Turner Arena for the South Atlantic Conference opener.
 
The Lincoln Memorial/Carson-Newman rivalry dates way back to 1923, as Tuesday serves as the 200th all-time meeting between the Railsplitters and their in-state adversary. The margin between the Railsplitters and Eagles in their nearly one-hundred year history of competition is razor thin, too, as Carson-Newman enters the first of two regular-season meetings leading the all-time series 100-99.
 
"It's always special for everybody involved. This has been a really good rivalry for a long time," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said of the longstanding rivalry. "You think about all the great players, coaches and things that have come through this rivalry. It's a fun thing to be a part of, but for us we always try to approach games the same way regardless of the opponent. They all count the same in the standings. But certainly we understand that for the fans it's a big deal and a tremendous rivalry. What's made it good is Carson-Newman's program has been outstanding for the last few seasons and that we've played a number of high stakes games in recent years."
 
The Railsplitters are 11-7 against Carson-Newman since Josh Schertz took over the program before the start of the 2008-09 campaign, but they will be looking to avenge a pair of double-digit point losses to the Eagles last season, including an 87-72 defeat at Tex Turner Arena that ended the Railsplitters' 20-game winning streak and knocked them from the top of the NABC/Division II national rankings. Lincoln Memorial responded to that by blasting the Eagles 91-61 in Jefferson City, but Carson-Newman defeated the Railsplitters 63-48 in the title game of the 2015 SAC Championship.
 
"There's a level of familiarity and that's probably the biggest thing," Schertz said of the lingering effect of last season's three games versus Carson-Newman. "I don't necessarily buy into the idea that whatever happened in the past affects the future because every game is its own separate entity. But there is a point of reference for (Carson-Newman) and we know how good those guys are. We can show them film from last year, show them the things we did and didn't do. From that end, hopefully it creates a heightened sense of focus. And that's going to be key, because you can't lose focus or physicality for one second. As soon as you lose either of those two things, they are going to take advantage because they have too good of players. You can't let down for one second." 
 
The Railsplitters improved to 2-1 on Thursday with a 105-63 shellacking of the Hiwassee Tigers in the Tex Turner Arena opener. The final margin of victory was decided by the end of the first 20 minutes, which Lincoln Memorial ended on a 40-6 run to hold a 61-19 halftime cushion. The second half was played to an even 44-44 draw, though, as the Railsplitters allowed Hiwassee to knock down four three-pointers and go 12-for-17 from the charity stripe to keep the game from getting completely out of hand. Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored a game- and season-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four three-pointers, while Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) added 15 points on a 6-of-8 mark from the field. Both Steele and Simmons scored all of their points in the first half.
 
A sustained second-half effort will be required for the Railsplitters to maneuver around a Carson-Newman team that returns all five starters from last season's NCAA tournament squad. Through three games, Lincoln Memorial has yet to put together 40 solid minutes of basketball, as they allowed King to shoot 58 percent and score 43 points in the second half of the season opener, relinquished 51 points in the second half against Lees-McRae and then played Hiwassee to a stalemate over the last 20 minutes of Thursday's contest.
 
"We're trying to create an identity for ourselves and figure out who we want to be," Schertz said. "I think the identity we showed at King was maybe not who we want to be and we did better for a half against Hiwassee. But to beat really good teams you can't do it in spurts. And so now it comes down to showing ourselves that we can play a complete game, win or lose, with maximum focus, physicality and energy. We haven't shown that yet and we have to do that to have a chance on Tuesday."
 
Carson-Newman opened the season with an 83-69 win over Southern Wesleyan before dropping a 72-65 decision to Lander and losing 95-92 against Johnson C. Smith. But the Eagles bounced back on Saturday by knocking off USC Aiken - two years removed from a Southeast Region title - 87-79 in Aiken, S.C.
 
A quick look at the box score from that win over the Pacers reveals exactly what kind of challenge the Eagles present, as the three-headed monster of Charles Clark, Sawyer Williams and Carson Brooks combined for 66 of Carson-Newman's 87 points. Behind that trio, the Eagles shot 54.9 percent from the field, knocked down 5-of-11 from three and limited the Pacers to 38.5 percent shooting.
 
Clark is putting up 24.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 52.2 percent shooting and a 50 percent mark from three-point range. The standout sophomore guard, who was thrust into a starting role last season in the wake of an injury to senior point guard Jared Johnson, has tallied 26, 20, 26 and 27 points in each of his first four appearances this season.
 
Williams is averaging 16.7 points per game on 63.3 percent shooting coupled with 6.7 rebounds per game, while Brooks is accounting for 15.3 points per game on 53.5 percent shooting with a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game. Senior forward Josh Rogers is chipping in 12.7 points per game on a 58.3 percent mark from the field with 9.0 boards per.
 
"They present a myriad of problems. They have a great inside game and a great outside game," Schertz said. "Clark is one of the best point guards in the nation and they've got two all-league posts in Brooks and Williams. They're extremely physical and aggressive, good defensively and fantastic on the backboards. They have complimentary pieces that fit together beautifully and guys around that are great role players. They're the real deal. When they are fully healthy, they are as good as anybody in the South Atlantic Conference, in the region and they're right up there with some of the better teams nationally."
 
Limiting the cumulative production and efficiency of Carson-Newman's big three will be of paramount importance for the Railsplitters.
 
The Clark-Brooks-Williams trio willed the Eagles to victory in last season's 15-point win in Tex Turner Arena, combining for 64 of Carson-Newman's 87 points. Clark had 30 points, Brooks posted 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Williams contributed 14 points and seven boards.
 
It was a different story when the Railsplitters went into Jefferson City and thumped the Eagles 91-61 in the second regular-season meeting last season, though, as Lincoln Memorial held that trio to just 27 total points. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) outscored that group by himself while matching his career-high with 34 points on 7-of-14 shooting from three-point territory.
 
If there's any particular facet of the game in which Carson-Newman has struggled early in the season, it's been on the defensive end of the court, where they are allowing opponents to shoot 44.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep. But those numbers are a little misleading based on a small sample size that includes the three-point loss to Johnson C. Smith in which the Golden Bulls went 14-for-27 from the deep.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday at Tex Turner Arena. Live stat, video and audio links will all be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, while fans can also listen to the game live via 91.3 The Gap.

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