WINGATE, N.C. -- The fifth-ranked Railsplitters (19-2, 15-0 SAC) will attempt to reach 20 wins for the seventh consecutive season on Saturday afternoon when they square off against the Wingate Bulldogs (15-5, 11-3 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action at 4 p.m. inside of Cuddy Arena.
 
Lincoln Memorial used a mind-blowing 45-6 run that consumed a 13-minute stretch from the end of the first half until the middle of the second half to power an 88-55 win over Brevard on Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena and improve to 15-0 in SAC play. The Railsplitters completely dominated both ends of the floor - shooting 55 percent while allowing just 34 percent shooting - to claim the longest SAC winning streak and best SAC start in league history. Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) led the way with 16 points and five rebounds, Emmanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) matched a season-high with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.) accounted for 14 points and five assists.
 
When factoring in the last two seasons, the Railsplitters have now won a remarkable 22 straight regular-season SAC games and 43 of the last 44 overall. A win on Saturday would give Lincoln Memorial its seventh straight 20-win season since head coach Josh Schertz led the Railsplitters to a 20-9 mark in 2009-10, his second season at the helm. To put that in perspective, LMU had not won 20 games in a season once since the 1988-89 team won 25 games, which ended another seven-season stretch of 20-win seasons for the program.
 
Wingate, who is receiving votes in the latest NABC rankings and slotted at No. 25 in the Division II Media poll, welcomes the Railsplitters to Cuddy Arena after having its nine-game SAC winning streak snapped in an 84-76 loss at Newberry on Saturday. That game wasn't quite as close as the final score indicated, as the Bulldogs trailed by 26 points with just over 11 minutes left before whittling away at the deficit without making any real threat to win the game late.
 
The Bulldogs began that nine-game league winning streak immediately after being bludgeoned by the Railsplitters 103-57 back on December 16 at Tex Turner Arena in by far the most lopsided win for either team in the history of the series. Just about everything went right for LMU in that game, as the Railsplitters opened on a 14-0 run, shot 58.5 percent from the field, allowed just 29 percent shooting and dominated the backboards 52-29. Simmons had 27 points to pace the Railsplitters, while Curtis McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) produced 20 points and 10 boards. Josh Dominguez was the only player in double figures for Wingate with 16 points off the bench.
 
Saturday's game sets up as a battle of strength versus strength. The Bulldogs are one of the best defensive teams in the SAC, ranking second in field-goal percentage defense by allowing just 41.7 percent shooting. Opponents are shooting 35.1 percent from three-point territory against Wingate, who ranks second in the league in scoring defense by surrendering 71.9 points per game. The Railsplitters, meanwhile, are ranked third in the nation in field-goal percent offense (52.1 percent), scoring margin (+19.1) and three-point field-goal percentage (43.2 percent) while ranking second in total scoring with 95.3 points per game.
 
Wingate has given up 50 percent shooting only two times this season. Along with LMU's blistering 58.5 percent performance, Lenoir-Rhyne accomplished that feat by hitting 57.6 percent against the Bulldogs on November 24. The Bulldogs benefit from tremendous rim protection, as they lead the SAC in blocks per game as a team with 5.1.
 
The Bulldogs sport a middle of the road offense, though, ranking eighth in the SAC in field-goal percentage (44 percent), three-point percentage (34.3 percent) and points per game (76.5).
 
Isiah Cureton leads the Wingate attack with 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on 49 percent shooting. Anthanee Doyle is putting up 11.5 points per game with a team-leading 42 three-pointers, while standout freshman Mike Baez is accounting for 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on 40.6 percent shooting. Xavier Griffin is adding 9.6 points per game. Keith Griffin leads the Bulldogs in rebounding with 6.5 per game to go along with a team-best 36 blocks.
 
Lincoln Memorial has defeated Wingate six straight times and is 16-9 in the all-time series against the Bulldogs. The Railsplitters have won five straight games at Cuddy Arena since last losing there in January, 2010.
 
The Railsplitters beat the Bulldogs 81-62 in last season's meeting in Wingate. Simmons lifted Lincoln Memorial off of the bench with a then career-high 26 points, while Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) pitched in 14 points.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Wingate, N.C. Live stat, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN3 through the Wingate Sports Network.
 
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