HARROGATE, Tenn. -- A top-20 showdown awaits the Tex Turner Arena faithful on Saturday afternoon, as the 19th-ranked and three-time defending South Atlantic Conference champion Railsplitters (11-2, 7-0 SAC) host the No. 8 and undefeated Queens Royals (12-0, 6-0 SAC) at 4 p.m.
 
Queens will be the highest ranked team Lincoln Memorial has hosted in regular-season action since 2006, when the Railsplitters faced No. 6 Montevallo. In fact, it marks only the third time of the Josh Schertz era that a ranked LMU team will be hosting a ranked opponent, and the only other two occurrences of that nature happened last season when the Railsplitters duked it out with No. 21 Newberry and No. 9 Mount Olive.

The winner of Saturday's contest will be in poll position in the race for the SAC crown, as the Railsplitters and Royals are the last remaining unbeaten teams in league play. LMU enters play with a 7-0 SAC mark, while Queens is sitting at 6-0. 
 
The Railsplitters are returning to action following a 120-84 demolition of the Mars Hill Lions on Wednesday night. Defensively, Lincoln Memorial was well below its lofty standards, allowing 44.6 percent shooting with a 14-for-26 mark from three-point range. But the Railsplitters posted the second-highest field-goal percentage in a game in program history, hitting 67.7 percent of their shots, including 17 of 26 from three. It marked the second 120-point explosion of the 2015-16 campaign and the 20th in program history, as LMU surpassed the 100-point threshold for the seventh time in 13 games this season.
 
Senior guard Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) needed just 13 shot attempts to rack up 31 points, going 11-for-13 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep to power his second 30-point outburst of the season. Simmons, who is now ranked third in the SAC in points per game with 19.9, has at least 18 points in five straight games.
 
Queens earned a pair of narrow wins in the opening weekend of the season, defeating Flagler by four points and Armstrong State by one, but the Royals haven't had a game decided by fewer than seven points since. Queens is coming off of a 94-79 win against Catawba in which they hit 53.3 percent of their shots and connected on 10 of 20 from three-point range to improve to 12-0.
 
The Royals are one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the country, with No. 1 nationally-ranked West Liberty standing as the only other undefeated squad left in the NCAA Division II in the wake of Angelo State's loss on Thursday.
 
The three keys to the Royals' success this season have been continuity, offensive efficiency and creating turnovers. Of the seven players that appeared in at least 27 games for the Royals last season, five are back. Queens is ranked fourth in the nation in overall field-goal percentage with a 51.8 percent mark, as each of the Royals' top six scorers are shooting higher than 44 percent. Finally, the Royals are ranked 22nd in the nation in turnovers forced with 17.8 per game. That is due in large part to a ball-hawking defense that racks up nearly 10 steals per game.
 
The Royals are led by the absolutely electric senior duo of Rob Lewis and Sean Morgan. Lewis - a 6-1 guard from Houston, Texas - is pouring in 19.5 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting paired with 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Morgan - a 6-6 forward - is racking up 19.3 points and shooting 71 percent from the floor, while adding 4.4 rebounds per game. Northern Kentucky University transfer Daniel Camps, listed as a 6-5 guard/forward combo, backs that duo with 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 68.8 percent shooting. Todd Withers (9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds per) and Marquis Rankin (8.8 points, 2.8 assists per) are also averaging better than eight points per game.
 
Lincoln Memorial has won all five meetings in the series since Queens joined the South Atlantic Conference prior to the 2013-14 season, but three of those five games have been decided by less than five points. That includes LMU's 67-64 win over Queens in the semifinals of the 2015 SAC Championship, which saw Gerel Simmons score nine of LMU's last 11 points and hit the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 11 seconds left in regulation.
 
The Railsplitters absolutely obliterated the Royals in last season's meeting at Tex Turner Arena, dominating nearly every facet of the game to capture a 101-69 victory. Six different players hit double figures for LMU, led by Dorian Pinson's (Greenville, S.C.) 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Tim Pierce (Albany, Ga.) and Simmons added 15 points apiece.
 
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena. Live stats, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
Quick Hits
Schertz previously served as the associate head coach under Bart Lundy at Queens from 2002-04...Despite creating a high volume of turnovers, Queens is not a standout defensive team, ranking sixth in the SAC in field-goal percentage defense by allowing 42.9 percent shooting. Opponents score an average of 74.4 points per game against the Royals...Queens is also turnover happy offensively, ranking 264th out of 303 NCAA DII teams in turnovers per game with 16.2...The Railsplitters lead the nation in field-goal percentage (52.5 percent) and are ranked second in scoring offense (98.9 points/game)
 
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