GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 2 nationally-ranked and defending NCAA Division II Southeast Region champion Railsplitters open the 2016-17 season this weekend by traveling to Greeneville, Tenn. to compete in the South Atlantic Conference vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge, which is being hosted by Tusculum College at Pioneer Arena. Lincoln Memorial tangles with the King Tornado at 6 p.m. on Friday before taking on the Lees-McRae Bobcats at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Railsplitters enter the 2016-17 campaign looking to extend a number of impressive streaks, as Lincoln Memorial has six straight 25-win seasons, including back-to-back 30-win campaigns. The Railsplitters, who are a combined 190-33 since the start of the 2009-10 season, ranking second in the nation in wins and winning percentage over that span, have also won four consecutive South Atlantic Conference regular-season titles.  
 
Lincoln Memorial returns three starters off of last season's team, which went 34-3 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship, in preseason All-SAC first team selection Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) and juniors Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) and Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.). That trio combined to average 34.4 points per game last season, an effort led by Choice's 16.7. Pinson produced 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a sophomore, leading the team in both rebounds and assists. Terry, meanwhile, compiled 7.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a sophomore.
 
That trio will be joined by a combination of familiar faces and newcomers.
 
In the backcourt, redshirt-junior Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.) and redshirt-freshman Cornelius Taylor (Claxton, Ga.) are expected to play significant roles, while fifth-year senior Hunter Spaw (Bean Station, Tenn.) will also be leaned on heavily. True freshmen Rudy Bibb-Boyd (Gainesville, Fla.) and Deshawn Patterson (Lenoir, N.C.) could see playing time right from the start of their collegiate careers.
 
In the frontcourt, the Pinson-Terry duo will be joined by returners Paul Woodson (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Nicksen Blanc (Port Charlotte, Fla.), University of South Florida transfer Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) and redshirt-freshman Rhondi Hackett (Greenwood, S.C.).
 
For the third consecutive season, the Railsplitters are opening against both King and Lees-McRae in the SAC vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge. In 2014-15, Lincoln Memorial went 2-0 in that event, which was hosted at Tex Turner Arena. The Railsplitters defeated Lees-McRae 96-72 before grinding out a 70-63 win against King. Last season, the Railsplitters went 1-1 in the SAC vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge, falling 83-69 against King in the season opener before rebounding with a 94-77 win against the Bobcats.
 
King enters the 2016-17 campaign with lofty expectations, as the Tornado were selected to repeat as Conference Carolinas champions after they won both the regular-season and tournament crowns last season, went 25-7 overall and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where King was handed a heartbreaking 83-79 loss at the hands of Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
The Tornado averaged a shade over 80 points per game last season and return four of its top-five scorers off of that unit, including leading scorer CJ Good, who poured in 16.6 points per game and led the nation with 127 three-pointers made. In addition to Good, senior swingman Hunter LeVeau is back after averaging 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while raining in 94 three-pointers last season. King also returns Derick Pope (8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds per game) and Mack Owens (7.1 points, 6.1 rebounds per game).
 
In addition to that quartet, King brings back senior Malcolm St. Louis and junior Shon'Dre Dukes, who combined for 54 appearances last season. St. Louis compiled 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, while Dukes led the team in blocks with 32 to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 points per game.
 
Those six returners will be joined by nine newcomers, including point guard Demarkus Stuckey Jr., who was an honorable mention All-American selection at Grand Rapids Community College.
 
The Railsplitters have dominated the all-time series against King, compiling a 66-26 mark against the Tornado since the two programs first met in 1933. Lincoln Memorial has won 25 of the last 27 meetings dating back to the 1982 season, but the Tornado knocked off the Railsplitters 83-69 in last season's lidlifter to snap a 10-game losing streak in the series.
 
In that contest, King held the Railsplitters to a season-low for points, shot 50.9 percent from the field and canned 13 three-pointers. CJ Good scored a game-high 22 points on a 6-for-7 mark from three-point range to lead the Tornado attack. Terry led the Railsplitters with 14 points in just 16 minutes of action.
 
Lees-McRae was picked to finish fifth in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll after going 16-15 last season with a 12-8 mark in league play.
 
The Bobcats graduated two key players off of last year's team in Austin Anderson (17.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game) and Kendall Isler (11.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game), but do bring three of their top-five scorers in redshirt-junior Lepreece Lynch and seniors Johnathan Honore and Darius Malbon.
 
Lynch is Lees-McRae's leading returning scorer as he poured in 12.7 points per game last season on 38.7 percent shooting and a 30.4 percent mark from deep. He also added 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Honore chipped in 6.4 points and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, while Malbon contributed 6.0 points per game on a 46.9 percent mark from deep.
 
Lees-McRae led the Conference Carolinas in scoring last season with 82.8 points per game, but was among the worst defensive teams in the nation, allowing opposing offenses to score 82.9 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting. Those numbers ranked 261st and 265th in the nation, respectively.
 
The Railsplitters are 7-0 all-time against Lees-McRae dating back to the initial meeting in 1991. In those seven games, Lincoln Memorial has never won by less than 17 points.
 
The Railsplitters defeated the Bobcats 94-77 in the second game of the 2015-16 campaign. LMU shot 49.1 percent from the floor and canned 11 three-pointers to pace that victory. Choice powered the Railsplitters with 23 points and seven triples, while Terry produced 13 points in 14 minutes.
 
Lincoln Memorial is 7-1 in season openers since head coach Josh Schertz took over the program prior to the 2009-10 season.
 
Tip-off in the 2016-17 season opener against King is set for 6 p.m. on Friday inside of Pioneer Arena in Greeneville, Tenn. The Railsplitters wrap up the weekend against Lees-McRae at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Five Things to Watch for in the SAC vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge
 
1. King is listed in the receiving votes section of the 2016-17 DII media preseason poll. The Tornado are a combined 49-13 over the past two seasons with a 34-6 mark in Conference Carolinas play.
 
2. Though the Railsplitters have dominated the series against King of late, winning 10 of the 11 meetings under Coach Josh Schertz, it's never been easy. In LMU's last seven wins over the Tornado, none have been decided by more than seven points. The Railsplitters last defeated King by double digits on November 23, 2010, notching a 79-63 win in Harrogate.
 
3. King will challenge the Railsplitters on the backboards, as the Tornado ranked fourth in the nation last season in offensive rebounds per game with 15. The Tornado were also a stingy defensive unit that ranked ninth in Division II in field-goal percentage defense by holding opponents to a 40 percent clip. Mack Owens led King with 69 offensive boards last season, while Derick Pope grabbed 48.
 
4. Both King and Lees-McRae can be lethal from behind the three-point arc. Though the Bobcats shot just 36.1 percent from deep, they buried an average of 10.7 three-pointers per game last season, ranking 13th in the nation in that department. King was even more productive than that, compiling 12 three-pointers per game, albeit on a 35.3 percent clip.
 
5. LMU senior guard Luquon Choice needs 11 three-pointers to match Nick Sanford for the career record. The Laurens, S.C. native has buried 286 treys in his three-year tenure in the Blue and Gray.