HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The longest road trip on the South Atlantic Conference slate awaits the 12th-ranked Railsplitters (15-2, 11-0 SAC) on Saturday, as they make the 350-mile trek to Hartsville, S.C. to take on the Coker Cobras (6-9, 2-9 SAC) at 2 p.m. inside of the DeLoach Center.
 
Lincoln Memorial will be returning to the court less than 48 hours after securing a hard-fought 82-77 win over Tusculum on Thursday night at Tex Turner Arena. The Railsplitters trailed by as many as seven points early in the second half before authoring a 21-point turnaround with a 31-9 run, which helped LMU secure its 16th straight win over the rival Pioneers and improve to 11-0 in SAC play. In an otherwise forgettable offensive performance in which the Railsplitters shot a season-low 43.5 percent, Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) tallied a game-high 24 points on a 5-of-9 mark from three-point range.
 
Since a red-hot start, the Railsplitters' offense has hit a bit of lull over the past four games. During the first 13 games of the season, Lincoln Memorial averaged 98.9 points per game on 52.5 percent shooting, but those numbers have dipped to 83.8 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting in the last four games. Three-point shooting isn't to blame for that wane in production, though. Lincoln Memorial hit 42.6 percent of its three-pointers with 10.7 per game through the first 13 games as opposed to a 42.1 percent clip with 10 per game over the last four.
 
The Railsplitters will be looking to complete the regular-season sweep of Coker, as they used a 19-0 first-half run to build a 40-20 halftime lead in route to a 72-58 victory over the Cobras at Tex Turner Arena on December 5. LMU held Coker to 29 percent shooting while connecting on 44.6 percent of its shots in that contest. Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) accounted for 17 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes off of the bench, while Choice and Hunter Spaw (Bean Station, Tenn.) added 15 and 11, respectively.
 
That loss to Lincoln Memorial launched Coker into a tailspin. Including that game, the Cobras have dropped eight of their last 10 games, most recently suffering an 88-73 loss at Carson-Newman last Saturday and a 69-60 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday. After a 4-1 start, Coker has slipped to 6-9 overall and into 11th place in the SAC standings.  
 
The Cobras lead the league in scoring defense by allowing just 69.3 points per game and holding opponents to 34.2 percent shooting from long range. But the Coker offense has been anything but productive, accounting for a league-worst 66.8 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting in SAC play. Rebounding has also been a major issue for the Cobras, who are ranked 10th in the conference in rebounding margin with a -1.4 disparity.
 
Leading scorer Donte Samuels - a 6-5 forward from Rocky Mount, N.C. - sat out the first meeting between the two teams while nursing a foot injury, but he is back for the Cobras, averaging 16.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game on 45.5 percent shooting. Trey Marshall - a 5-11 senior guard - is contributing 11.3 points per game on 47.2 percent shooting, while Aubrey Daniels is chipping in 9.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Jake Barrett is also a factor, as he is putting up 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Barrett paced the Cobras' in the first meeting against the Railsplitters this season with 14 points.
 
Lincoln Memorial is 5-0 all-time against Coker, but had to grind out a 62-58 win in Hartsville last season. Both teams finished an identical 22-for-51 from the field, but LMU hit one more three-pointer and three more free throws to lock down the victory. Choice scored 10 points in that contest, while Samuels put up 19 points for the Cobras.
 
LMU and Coker are scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the DeLoach Center in Hartsville, S.C. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive online home of Lincoln Memorial University athletics.
 
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