JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Riding a combined 10-game winning streak, the seventh-ranked Railsplitters (16-2, 12-0 SAC) and Carson-Newman Eagles (11-7, 7-5 SAC) complete their regular-season series on Wednesday night when Lincoln Memorial travels to Jefferson City, Tenn. for an 8 p.m. South Atlantic Conference battle inside of Holt Fieldhouse.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman are two of the three hottest teams currently operating in the South Atlantic Conference, as the Railsplitters have won six straight games while the Eagles have captured four straight wins. Wingate is the only other team in the league sporting a winning streak of at least four games, as the second-place Bulldogs have also won six straight.
 
The Railsplitters improved to 12-0 in SAC play on Saturday afternoon in Hartsville, S.C. by exercising complete and utter dominance in a 106-57 win over the Coker Cobras. Lincoln Memorial shot 61.9 percent from the field and limited Coker to 18-for-60 shooting (30 percent) to match the largest margin of victory in a SAC game in program history. It would have been the program's biggest point spread in a SAC game if not for Kevin Branch's buzzer-beating three-pointer from near half court at the end of regulation. The Railsplitters never trailed in the contest, opened on a 17-3 run and led 56-22 at the half in one of the most commanding performances from start-to-finish in recent memory. All five starters finished in double figures for LMU, led by Gerel Simmons' (Accokeek, Md.) 21 points. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) fell just shy of a triple-double with 11 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
 
With the win, Lincoln Memorial moved two wins away from matching the 2010-11 and 2014-15 teams for the longest SAC winning streaks in program history. Both of those squads started 14-0 in SAC play in route to winning league regular-season titles.
 
Carson-Newman opened SAC play this season with four straight losses, including a 98-82 setback to the Railsplitters in the conference opener, but the Eagles have since won seven of their last eight games to vault to 7-5 in the league and into sole possession of fifth place. The Eagles' lone blemish over that stretch was a 71-48 loss at Wingate.
 
It took a Herculean effort from Charles Clark and Sawyer Williams, as well as a 30-foot buzzer beat from Zack Pangalla, but Carson-Newman pushed its winning streak to four on Sunday with a 91-89 victory at Newberry. The Eagles trailed by as many as 21 points, but rallied behind Clark's 30 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals and Williams' 29 points and eight rebounds on 12-for-14 shooting before escaping Eleazer Arena on Pangalla's bank three-pointer from the top of the key.
 
Clark and Williams have headed up the Carson-Newman attack all season. A 6-2 sophomore guard from Murfreesboro, Tenn., Clark now leads the SAC in scoring with 20.7 points per game on 48.6 percent shooting. He is also adding 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while his 114 made free throws leads the league. If there is an area of weakness for Clark, it is ball security, as he has coughed up the second-most turnovers in the SAC with 66. Williams is putting up 16.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on a 64.2 percent clip while leading the league with 53 offensive boards.
 
That duo is backed by senior forwards Carson Brooks and Josh Rogers. Brooks is averaging 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on 54.4 percent shooting, while Rogers is contributing 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
Both teams have been a hallmark of offensive efficiency this season. Lincoln Memorial enters Wednesday's game ranked second in the nation in scoring with 95.9 points per game, third in field-goal percentage at 51.6 percent and third in three-point field-goal percentage with a 43.4 percent clip. Carson-Newman is sitting in seventh in the SAC in scoring with 80.6 points per game, but is second in the nation in overall field-goal percentage with a gaudy 51.9 percent mark. The Eagles are also making a respectable 39 percent of their three-point tries.
 
The rebounding battle could prove key to the outcome of Wednesday's game, which features two teams built on a philosophy that values toughness and physicality. The Railsplitters lead the SAC and rank 27th in the nation in rebounding margin with a plus 6.7 disparity, while also pulling down the fifth-most defensive rebounds per game in the country with 31.5. Carson-Newman is second in the SAC and 37th in the nation in rebounding margin at plus 5.7.
 
A quick look back at the most recent meetings between Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman shows the importance of rebounding in the series. In the 2015 SAC Championship title game, which Carson-Newman won 63-48, the Eagles outrebounded the Railsplitters 51-31. In LMU's 30-point win in Jefferson City, the Railsplitters posted a 39-29 edge on the glass. In the first meeting this season, LMU accounted for a slight 39-36 advantage.
 
The Eagles have won five straight at home and are 7-3 this season at Holt Fieldhouse, where they are putting up 86.2 points per game, shooting 54.4 percent from the field and knocking down 43.9 percent of their three-point attempts.
 
Lincoln Memorial won the 200th all-time between the longtime rivals and evened the series at 100-100 with a 16-point win over the Eagles in the first meeting between the two teams on November 24 at Tex Turner Arena. The Railsplitters outscored the Eagles 49-26 and led wire-to-wire to fuel the victory. LMU held C-N to 9-for-28 shooting in the first half, but allowed a 55.6 percent clip in the second stanza. Simmons led the Railsplitters with a career-high 37 points on 13-of-21 shooting, while Williams matched Simmons with 37 points and 12 boards to pace Carson-Newman.
 
The Railsplitters obliterated the Eagles 91-61 in last season's meeting at Holt Fieldhouse on February 25, recording the program's most lopsided win over Carson-Newman since a 31-point triumph in 2011. Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) paced the Railsplitters with 34 points.
 
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tenn. Live stat, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
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