GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- The fourth-ranked Railsplitters (20-2, 16-0 SAC) look to maintain their stranglehold at the top of the South Atlantic Conference standings on Wednesday night when they travel to Greeneville, Tenn. to take on the Tusculum Pioneers (10-11, 6-10 SAC) at 8 p.m.
 
Lincoln Memorial secured its seventh straight 20-win season and pushed its winning streak to 10 on Saturday afternoon by absolutely steamrolling the Wingate Bulldogs 107-74 at Cuddy Arena. The Railsplitters' trio of Jalen Steele (Knoxville, Tenn.), Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.) and Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) would have tied the Bulldogs by themselves, as that group combined for 74 points. Steele scored 32 points and fell one three-pointer shy of matching his and Choice's single-game record for triples by going 9-for-12 from deep. Simmons added a near triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Choice pitched in 18 points and seven boards.
 
That win marked Lincoln Memorial's second straight 33-point victory, as the Railsplitters blasted Brevard 88-55 last Wednesday at Tex Turner Arena. It also gave the Railsplitters their seventh winning streak of at least 10 games or longer under head coach Josh Schertz.
 
Now the Railsplitters will try to take down Tusculum for the 17th straight time, as Lincoln Memorial has not lost to the Pioneers since February 4, 2009. That was the Railsplitters' only loss to Tusculum in Schertz's tenure, as the eighth-year head coach is 17-1 in his career against the in-state rivals.
 
Lincoln Memorial escaped with an 82-77 victory when the two teams met for the first time this season back on January 21 in Harrogate. The Railsplitters trailed by one point at the half and by seven points with less than 15 minutes left in regulation, but used a 31-9 spurt to grab a 68-53 lead by the 7:30 mark. Tusculum refused to go quietly, though, cutting the score the 75-71 with a minute remaining. But the Railsplitters would fend off that late rally at the free-throw line to clinch the victory.
 
Tusculum shot 45.3 percent from the floor and connected on 9-of-20 from three-point range, while the Railsplitters shot 43.5 percent and hit 12 three-pointers, albeit on 32 attempts. Choice had a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting and Steele produced 19 points and eight rebounds. Darius Carter led Tusculum with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Chase Mounce notched 14 points and 11 boards.
 
The Pioneers have won three of their last five games since losing to Lincoln Memorial, beating Catawba, Brevard and Anderson over that span. But Tusculum is coming off of a 96-87 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. The Bears led that contest wire-to-wire to send the Pioneers to 6-10 in SAC play.
 
Carter and Mounce lead the way for the Pioneers offensively. Carter - a 6-2 senior guard - is putting up 17.6 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. Mounce, meanwhile, is averaging 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game on 53.4 percent shooting. The 6-10 junior center has three double-doubles this season, including his 14-11 performance against LMU. Zach Davis is chipping in 10 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while Javon Price is adding 9.5 points per game on a 35.3 percent mark from the field.
 
Wednesday's game should provide an opportunity for the Railsplitters' offensive machine to keep marching along. The Pioneers are ranked ninth in the SAC in points per game allowed with 83.3, while opponents are shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three. Over its last five games, Lincoln Memorial is shooting a ridiculous 56.1 percent from the field and 49.6 percent from three.
 
The Railsplitters won last season's meeting in Greeneville 88-69 to improve to 46-31 all-time in Tusculum's home gym. Lincoln Memorial led by a mere three points at the half, but outscored the Pioneers 47-31 in the second. Simmons led the Railsplitters with 17 points in 22 minutes off of the bench, while Curtis Webb (Spartanburg, S.C.) pitched in 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Matt Shown paced the Pioneers with 17 points, while Mounce had 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks.
 
Lincoln Memorial's last four losses against Tusculum have all occurred in Greeneville: 71-74 in 2009, 67-73 in overtime in 2008, 58-61 in 2007 and 77-87 in overtime in 2005.
 
Tusculum is 6-4 at home this season, which includes a 103-98 upset win over Newberry back on January 9. The Pioneers average 84.7 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting at home as opposed to 78.4 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting on the road.
 
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. Live stats and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive online home of Lincoln Memorial University athletics. Fans can also listen along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace online or at WLMU 91.3 The Gap.

Game Day Links
Live stats 
Audio