NEWBERRY, S.C. – The 16th-ranked Railsplitters (19-4, 14-3 SAC) will try to reach 20 wins for the eighth consecutive season, extend their winning streak to 10 games and exact some revenge on Saturday when they stare down the Newberry Wolves (14-9, 9-8 SAC) at noon inside of Eleazer Arena. Lincoln Memorial enters Saturday's South Atlantic Conference contest just a game back of Queens for first place in the league standings, while Newberry is tied for sixth place.
 
The Railsplitters' winning streak hit nine on Wednesday night as Lincoln Memorial dropped Tusculum for the 20th consecutive time, 87-67. Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) notched his fourth consecutive double-double and his sixth of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds to carry the Railsplitters through an otherwise lethargic performance. Perry went 10-for-14 from the field while Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.) scored 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting, but the rest of the team went 15-for-37. That was still good enough to get by the Pioneers, who shot 41.7 percent and never led by more than two points a day after playing at Georgia Tech.
 
Head coach Josh Schertz led the Railsplitters to a 20-9 mark during the 2009-10 season, his second at the helm of the LMU men's basketball program. That was Lincoln Memorial's first 20-win season as NCAA Division II members as well as its first since the 1988-89 campaign. With only 12 20-win seasons on record prior to Schertz's arrival, that number used to be a significant benchmark for Lincoln Memorial, but now it has become business as usual. With a win on Saturday, the Railsplitters would hit 20 wins for the eighth straight season.
 
The Railsplitters will also be aiming for their eighth winning streak of 10 games or more of the Schertz era. Lincoln Memorial spun off the longest winning streak in SAC and program history last season by reeling off 24 straight wins, a streak that carried them all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship game.
 
The Railsplitters will try to accomplish those two feats against a Newberry team that is responsible for one of their four losses this season, as the Wolves pulled out a 107-102 win at Lincoln Memorial on December 17.
 
In that contest, Newberry went 20-for-47 from three-point range, tallying the second-most made three-pointers on the second-most attempts in SAC history to snap an eight-game losing streak against the Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to lead briefly in the second half, but Newberry maintained control from start to finish and held on for the victory. The Wolves led for 34:20, while the Railsplitters led for just 2:18.
 
Lincoln Memorial has won 11 of its last 12 games since that loss, while Newberry has been up and down since upsetting the then 23rd-ranked Railsplitters. Newberry ripped of five straight wins in the immediate aftermath of its win in Tex Turner, but followed that up with five consecutive losses to Catawba, Carson-Newman, Queens, Anderson and Wingate. The Wolves are currently riding a two-game winning streak, though, after grinding out a four-point win at Mars Hill and a five-point win at Catawba.
 
Newberry still boasts one of the most potent offensive attacks in the nation, ranking fifth in the country in scoring with 93.5 points per game. However, the Wolves' offensive numbers have decreased exponentially each month. After averaging 102 points per game in November and 98 points per game in December, the Wolves averaged 88 points per in nine games in January and have scored 84 per so far in February.
 
Newberry's success hinges almost entirely on the offense producing a high volume of points because its defense surrenders points in equal measure. The Wolves are ranked 297th out of 302 Division II teams in points per game allowed with 89, while their 50.3 opponent field-goal percentage is the fourth-worst mark in the nation.
 
The Wolves are led by 5-5 senior guard Gerald Evans, who is scoring 13.9 points per game and dishing out 3.6 assists per appearance. Along with Evans, James Stepp is contributing 13.7 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting from three-point range and Marshall Lange is accounting for 12.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per appearance on 45.6 percent shooting. DJ Copeland (11.5 points, 4.2 rebounds per) and Mason Spease (10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds per) are also scoring at least 10 points per game for Newberry.
 
Evans powered the Wolves in the first meeting against Lincoln Memorial, scoring a game-high 29 points on a 5-for-11 mark from three. Stepp and Lange added 15 points apiece. Shaw led the Railsplitters in that contest with 22 points while Perry notched 20 points and eight rebounds. Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) also scored 20 points and led all players with 14 rebounds, while Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) tallied 18.
 
The Railsplitters are 17-7 all-time against Newberry and haven't lost to the Wolves in Eleazer Arena since February 27, 2010, rolling off six straight road wins over that span. Lincoln Memorial cruised to a 115-94 win in last season's meeting in Newberry.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Newberry are set for an early noon tip-off inside of Eleazer Arena. Live stats, video and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
Five things to watch against Newberry:
1. The Railsplitters should have a field day offensively against the Wolves. Lincoln Memorial leads the SAC and ranks fourth nationally in points per game with 94.6. In addition to that, the Railsplitters are ranked fifth in the country in field-goal percentage with a 52.4 percent clip. LMU has scored at least 100 points in five of its last six games against Newberry.
 
2. Limiting turnovers will be key for the Railsplitters on Saturday. Newberry leads the nation in steals per game with 13.6 and ranks second in turnovers forced per game with 22.91. Lincoln Memorial did a good job of protecting the ball in this season's first meeting, turning it over just 11 times.
 
3. Newberry has made 321 three-pointers this season, the second-most in the country. Three-point efficiency has been pivotal for the Wolves, as they have hit 38.3 of their threes in wins while making just 33.5 percent in losses. Newberry has made 30.6 percent of its three-point tries in three games in February.
 
4. The Wolves have little to no rim protection, ranking dead last in the country in total blocks with 23 and blocks per game with 1.0. Newberry is small across the board with its tallest players listed at 6-6 (Lamell Washington and Musah Sackor). It could be a big day for Perry, who leads the nation in field-goal percentage with a 70 percent clip, and Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.), who is shooting 69 percent.
 
5. Choice is quickly approaching 400 career three-pointers, as he currently has 380. The Laurens, S.C. also scored his 1800th career point in the win over Tusculum. He is fifth all-time at LMU in scoring.