HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The two hottest teams in the South Atlantic Conference will collide on Saturday as the No. 21 Railsplitters (17-4, 12-3 SAC) host the Wingate Bulldogs (14-7, 11-4 SAC) in a battle between the conference's second- and third-place teams on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside of Tex Turner Arena. As part of the Division II Showcase, the game will be broadcast nationally on the American Sports Network and will be available to watch live at www.NCAA.com.
 
Saturday will also serve as Lincoln Memorial's annual Play4Kay game, as the department will raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to help in the fight against women's cancers.
 
Wingate comes into Saturday's contest with an 11-game winning streak, which is the Bulldogs' longest since the start of the 2000-01 season and the eighth-longest active winning streak in the nation, while Lincoln Memorial has won a season-high seven straight games, the 16th-longest streak in the nation. The Railsplitters are currently in second place in the SAC standings and trail first-place Queens by two games, while Wingate is in third place and just a game behind Lincoln Memorial.
 
The Railsplitters reached seven consecutive wins on Wednesday evening with an easy-breezy 90-58 win at Brevard. Despite going 7-for-29 from three-point range, Lincoln Memorial shot over 69 percent on two-pointers (27-for-39), scored 50 points in the paint and outrebounded the Tornados 47-20 to win handedly. It marked LMU's 13th straight win over Brevard, who fell to 0-15 in league play with the loss.
 
Seniors Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) - winner of two of the last three AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week awards - and Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) continued to carry the Railsplitters by combining for 54 points against Brevard. Perry had a career-high 31 points on 12-of-13 shooting and a 7-for-11 mark from the free-throw line while chipping in 10 rebounds, while Choice went 8-for-15 from the field to score 23 points. He also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to notch his first career double-double.  
 
Perry and Choice lead the Railsplitters in scoring with 19 and 17.8 points per game, respectively, but that duo has been deadly of late, combining to score at least 50 points in three consecutive games. Along with the 54 combined points against Brevard, the Perry/Choice tandem piled up 53 points at Lenoir-Rhyne and 56 points against Carson-Newman.
 
Behind that pair, the Railsplitters have scored at least 90 points in 10 consecutive games. Then No. 5 nationally-ranked Bellarmine was the last team to hold Lincoln Memorial below that mark in a 74-60 win for the Railsplitters on December 31. LMU leads the SAC in scoring (94.9 points per), field-goal percentage (52.7) and three-point percentage (42.4). Those numbers are even better in SAC play, when the Railsplitters are pouring in 98.1 points per game on 53.1 percent shooting and a 43.5 percent mark from three.
 
Perry and Choice get all the publicity, but the consistent production of Cornelius Taylor (Claxton, Ga.) and Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.) has helped the Railsplitters win 14 of their last 16 games despite missing starters Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) and Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) for time due to injuries.
 
Taylor has started all 21 games this season and is producing 10.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. The Claxton, Ga. native has reached double figures in four of his last five games, including a pair of 18-point outbursts. Shaw has appeared in all 21 games as well and started 15, accounting for 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Shaw has reached double figures in three of his last six games.
 
Wingate poses a tremendous threat to the Railsplitters' winning streak as well as their hope to remain in the race to win a fifth consecutive SAC regular-season championship.
 
With a wealth of returners from last season's team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs were picked second behind Lincoln Memorial in the SAC preseason coaches' poll. For one reason or another, Wingate failed to live up to the hype early and stumbled to 1-4 in league play after losing to Lincoln Memorial on December 14.
 
However, the Bulldogs haven't lost since then, reeling off 11 straight wins to catapult from the bottom of the standings into sole possession of third place. That 11-game winning streak includes a 71-64 win over undefeated Queens on January 18. That still stands as the only loss for the No. 7 Royals.
 
Wingate rode a strong defensive effort to an 85-77 win over Newberry on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs held the high-powered Wolves to 38.9 percent shooting and a 5-for-26 mark from three-point range to push that winning streak to 11.
 
Two things have keyed the Bulldogs' mid-season turnaround.
 
The first is the return of senior preseason All-SAC forward Isiah Cureton, who missed eight games from November 12-December 14. Cureton is averaging 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game and has contributed double-figure points in seven of the 11 games since his return.
 
The second is immensely improved defensive play. During that slow start, Wingate allowed an opponent to shoot at least 45 percent six times. That hasn't happened once during this 11-game winning streak, while the Bulldogs have held their opponent below 40 percent shooting seven times.
 
Wingate is a middle-of-the-road offensive team in terms of total production - sixth in the SAC in scoring (81.9), seventh in field-goal percentage (45 percent) and eighth in three-point percentage (35.6) - but the Bulldogs can score from everywhere, as six different players are putting up double figures per game.
 
Sophomore Mike Baez is leading the way with 16 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 45.9 percent shooting, while Josh Dominguez is averaging 13.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per on a 40.7 percent mark from three. Zeriq Lolar (12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds per, team-high 50 assists), Keith Griffin (11.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, team-high 50 blocks) and Anthanee Doyle (11 points, 2.9 rebounds, team-high 42 threes) are also consistent producers alongside Cureton.
 
Lincoln Memorial is 19-9 all-time against Wingate and has won nine straight games in the series dating back to January 11, 2014. The Railsplitters haven't lost to the Bulldogs since suffering a disappointing 69-53 setback in the SAC Championship title game on March 10, 2013.
 
LMU has won the past four games by double figures, including an 84-72 victory at Wingate on December 14. In that contest, the Railsplitters led by as many as 21 points in the first half before the Bulldogs outscored the visitors 43-40 in the second to trim the final deficit. Choice had 19 points, while Perry scored all 16 of his points in the second half. Baez and Lolar led Wingate with 20 points apiece, while Doyle produced 18 for the Cureton-less Bulldogs.
 
Tip-off between the Railsplitters and Bulldogs is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena. The game will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network, but can also be watched on either www.NCAA.com or www.LMURailsplitters.com. Live stats will also be available.
 
Five things to watch against Wingate
1. Through 21 appearances, Perry leads the SAC in shooting percentage with a 71.1 percent clip. In SAC play alone, the Bartow, Fla. native is hitting a gaudy 73.9 percent of his shots while leading the league in field goals made with 160. He has scored at least 25 points in five of his last seven appearances and posted a double-double in four of his past seven outings.
 
2. Rebounding will play a key role in Saturday's outcome. Wingate is ranked third in the SAC in rebounding margin (plus-5.6) and second in defensive rebounds per game (29.7). The Bulldogs have outrebounded every opponent during their 11-game winning streak. Lincoln Memorial leads the league in rebounding margin (plus-10.4) and averages a SAC-best 44.1 rebounds per game.
 
3. After losing its first five road games of the season, Wingate has won five straight road games. In two of their last three road tests, the Bulldogs took down top-flight SAC competition with a win at Carson-Newman on January 7 and at Queens on January 18. The Railsplitters haven't lost to Wingate at home since 2008, though, compiling a streak of nine straight home victories in the series. 
 
4. Wingate leads the SAC in blocks per game with 5.3. Keith Griffin averages 2.6, while Cureton has accounted for 1.2 per game.
 
5. The Bulldogs' recent play on defense has been outstanding, but Lincoln Memorial has been sturdy on that end of the floor for most of the season. The Railsplitters lead the SAC in scoring defense with a league-low 73.6 points per game allowed. Opponents are also shooting just 39 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three, both the lowest marks in the SAC.