BANNER ELK, N.C. – After months of building anticipation, the No. 4/2 Railsplitters officially open the 2017-18 campaign this weekend with a pair of matchups in the South Atlantic Conference vs. Conference Carolinas Challenge. Lincoln Memorial debuts against Lees-McRae, who will host the two-day tournament in its entirety at Williams Gymnasium, at 7 p.m. on Friday before turning around to face King at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  
 
The Railsplitters enter the weekend following an encouraging performance in an 86-79 exhibition loss at Butler, the two-time Division I national runners-up. After trailing by as many as 13 points, Lincoln Memorial made a run and closed the gap to 74-70 by the under-4 media timeouts. However, the Railsplitters couldn't get it any closer than that and ultimately saw their upset bid fall a bit short.
 
Lincoln Memorial pretty much got whatever it wanted offensively, shooting 52 percent from the field, including a 15-for-26 effort in the second half. The Railsplitters also buried 10 three-pointers on a 40 percent clip. But Butler scored with even greater efficiency, shooting 56 percent while going 15-for-19 at the free throw line in the second half alone.
 
Senior forward Emanuel Terry was arguably the best player on the floor in Saturday's trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse, leading all players in points, rebounds and blocks with a spectacular 24/9/5 performance. The Enterprise, Ala. native went 8-for-9 from the field and buried eight of his 11 free throw attempts to power the Railsplitters.
 
Dorian Pinson, Cornelius Taylor and Deshawn Patterson also reached double figures for the Railsplitters. Pinson put up 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Taylor contributed 14 points on a 3-of-6 mark from deep. Patterson produced 10 points with a team-leading five assists in 27 minutes off the bench. Josh Odem was also solid in his debut for the Railsplitters with eight points and four rebounds.
 
The Railsplitters head into the 2017-18 campaign riding streaks of three consecutive 30-win seasons, seven straight 25-win seasons, five straight South Atlantic Conference regular-season titles and seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Lincoln Memorial has also won back-to-back Southeast Region titles. The Railsplitters went 30-6 during the 2016-17 campaign.
 
Despite that, the Railsplitters were picked second in the SAC preseason coaches poll behind Queens, who has had its season ended by Lincoln Memorial in each of the last three seasons. The Railsplitters finished with 91 points and two first-place votes, while Queens had eight first-place tallies and 98 points total.
 
Pinson, Terry and Trevon Shaw were named to the preseason All-SAC team. Pinson earned a spot on the first team, while Terry and Shaw were selected to the second team.
 
Lincoln Memorial is 8-1 in season openers under head coach Josh Schertz, who enters his 10th season with the Railsplitters with a 234-53 combined record.
 
Lees-McRae – Friday, November 10 at 7pm
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The Bobcats enter the 2017-18 campaign looking to rebound from an 8-win 2016-17 season that ended with a five-game losing streak. Lees-McRae was picked to finish sixth in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll after finishing eighth in the league with a 7-13 mark last season.
 
Lees-McRae returns the bulk of its team from the 2016-17 season and added a few reinforcements on the recruiting trail.
 
The Bobcats welcome back their top four scorers from a season ago, led by senior forward Donte Falls and senior guard Jordan Turner. Falls put up a team-high 12.7 points per game and grabbed 5.4 rebounds per appearance as well, while Turner chipped in 12.4 points per game. Seniors Lepreece Lynch and Rishad Felton are also back after putting up 8.9 and 8.4 points per game, respectively.
 
Lees-McRae also brought in a couple of transfers that could make an immediate impact, highlighted by Savannah State transfer point guard Kamil Williams. 7-1 center Dylan Gollihar is also new to the team after transferring from Division I Loyola University. Malik Wright – a 6-5 forward – could also play a role on the team after averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season at Brewton-Parker College.
 
The Bobcats were one of the worst defensive teams in the nation last season, ranking 271st out of 302 teams in scoring defense by allowing 83.3 points per game. Lees-McRae also allowed opponents to shoot 47 percent for the season, offsetting a decent offense that scored 77.7 points per game and knocked down nearly nine three-pointers a night.
 
Lees-McRae was significantly better at home last season, posting a 6-6 mark inside of Williams Gymnasium compared to a 2-15 mark outside of Banner Elk.
 
The Railsplitters are 8-0 all-time against Lees-McRae and have won every game in the series by a minimum of 17 points. In last season's meeting, Lincoln Memorial notched a 94-66 victory in Greeneville, Tenn. to move to 2-0. Among returning players, Shaw led the way with 12 points, while Taylor and Pinson had 10 points apiece. Lynch and Turner led Lees-McRae with 14 points apiece.
 
King – Saturday, November 11 at 4pm
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The Tornado compiled a 19-12 record last season and finished tied for third in the Conference Carolinas with a 14-6 mark. Despite bringing an almost entirely new team into the 2017-18 season, King was picked to replicate that finish in the league's preseason coaches poll.
 
King will have to find a way to replace nearly 50 points per game with the departure of Hunter LeVeau (15.2 points per game), CJ Good (13.3), Derick Pope (10.9) and Malcolm St. Louis (10.8). LeVeau and Good will prove particularly difficult to replace, as those two combined to hit 195 three-pointers last season.
 
Junior guard Jordan Floyd is the leading returning scorer for the Tornado after putting up 9.3 points per game in 31 appearances last season, while senior Mack Owens is back after scoring 8.5 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds per in 17 starts. Je'Done Dukes chipped in 6.6 points per game, while Shon'Dre Dukes shot 56.1 percent from the floor in limited minutes as a junior. Senior forward Dontae Campbell is also back after missing the last half of the 2016-17 season due to injury.
 
Those five will likely lead the charge for the Tornado, but the team will also have to rely heavily on a contingent of 13 players that have yet to play a game at King. That group includes Timothy Taylor, who played at Lincoln Memorial early in the 2015-16 season before opting to transfer.
 
The Railsplitters are an impressive 67-26 all-time against King with wins in 11 of the last 12 meetings. King did hand Lincoln Memorial a season-opening 83-69 loss to kick off the 2015-16 campaign, but the Railsplitters returned the favor with a dominant 92-70 win to open the 2016-17 season. Taylor had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting while Terry contributed a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. No King player finished with more than nine points.