HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The 15th-ranked Railsplitters (6-1) take a break from South Atlantic Conference play and look to extend their winning streak to seven games on Wednesday at 7:30 when they welcome the Bluefield College Rams (8-5) to Tex Turner Arena for the first time in 21 years.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Bluefield - a NAIA Division II program from Bluefield, Va. - have not met since December of 1994, when the Railsplitters defeated the Rams 91-77 during the first season of play at Tex Turner Arena. The Railsplitters are 3-1 all-time against Bluefield in a series that dates as far back as 1927.
 
The Railsplitters' winning streak hit six on Saturday afternoon when they put forth a dominant defensive effort in a 72-58 victory over Coker. Lincoln Memorial held the Cobras to 29 percent shooting for the game, including a dreadful 5-for-32 effort in the first half, to pace the second wire-to-wire win of the season. Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting coupled with eight rebounds and two blocks. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) chipped in 15 points with three triples.
 
The Rams head to Harrogate carrying an 8-5 overall record with a 1-2 mark in Appalachian Athletic Conference play. Bluefield won five consecutive games from November 18-30, but has since dropped three straight, which includes an 86-54 loss at Kentucky Wesleyan on Sunday. In that contest, the Rams were held to just 37 percent shooting and turned the ball over 25 times, but they did hang with the Panthers on the backboards with a slim 37-35 deficit.
 
Led by the talented trio of Zeke Williams, Joseph McClain and Alonzo Howard, Bluefield is averaging 75.3 points per game while shooting the rock at a 36.2 percent clip from outside of the three-point arc. The Rams average more than eight made three-pointers per game and are allowing 70.4 points per game.
 
"Like a lot of NAIA programs, depth is probably the biggest difference. But Bluefield's starting five and particularly Williams, McClain and Howard would be really good players in the South Atlantic Conference," LMU head coach Josh Schertz said. "They run good stuff, mix defenses and have good individual players. It's one of those games where we better be ready to execute against different types of defenses and guard good players."
 
Williams leads the team with 15.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 45.5 percent shooting, while McClain is putting up 10.8 points and shooting 47.8 percent from deep. Howard is averaging a near double-double with 10.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 53.1 percent shooting. That group is aided by Teyon Henry (9.7 points per) and Sidney Knox (8.9 points per).
 
With only one game on the docket, the Railsplitters will focus on three things in particular this week: fall semester final exams, resting and recovering from the first month of the season and improving in a few key areas with the benefit of additional practice time.
 
"We need to have a week to get in the gym and get some work done," Schertz said. "That being said, finals take precedence over that. First priority is doing as well as we can on the final exams and finishing the semester as strong as possible. The second thing would be to try to get healthy and/or rested. We can also take a broader self-scout and find some areas that we can clean up."
 
In terms of rest and recovery, this week couldn't have come at a better time. Three rotation players - Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.), Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) and Nicksen Blanc (Port Charlotte, Fla.) - sat out Saturday's game against Coker due to a variety of ailments, while a number of other significant contributors showed signs of weariness following last Wednesday's four-overtime thriller at Lenoir-Rhyne. After combining for 57 points against L-R, Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) and Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) accounted for just 10 combined points against the Cobras.
 
In addition to the miles those guys have already logged in just seven games, rest and recovery will be of the utmost importance for the week ahead, as the Railsplitters wrap up 2015 with three grueling SAC contests in a five-day stretch, heading to Brevard next Monday, hosting Wingate on Wednesday and then traveling to Newberry on Saturday.
 
Coach Schertz noted three problem areas that his staff will aim to address this week.
 
The Railsplitters are ranked last in the SAC in personal fouls per game with 22.6. Subsequently, opponents are averaging 18 made free throws per game.
 
The turnover bug has also latched onto Lincoln Memorial at various times this season, most notably on Saturday when the Railsplitters committed a season-high 18 turnovers against the Cobras with five in the first three minutes of action. In spite of that, Lincoln Memorial is currently the fourth-least turnover prone team in the South Atlantic Conference with an average of just 12 per game.
 
Second-half energy has been an issue all season, as the Cobras outscored the Railsplitters 38-32 in the second frame after falling behind by 20 at the break. Entering Wednesday's contest, Lincoln Memorial has a cumulative 337-197 edge in the first half but is being outscored 315-295 in the second. 
 
The Railsplitters have not lost a nonconference regular season game at Tex Turner Arena since falling in overtime to Ohio Valley on December 9, 2008 during the program's first season under Schertz. Since then, the Railsplitters have captured 36 straight wins over nonconference opponents in Harrogate.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Live stat, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, while fans can listen along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace at WLMU 91.3 The Gap.