JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Just four days removed from a thrilling, come-from-behind win over the No. 1 nationally ranked Queens Royals, the No. 3 Railsplitters (15-1, 9-0 SAC) will challenge another stout foe on Wednesday night when they travel to nearby Jefferson City, Tennessee to square off against the rival Carson-Newman Eagles (15-2, 7-2 SAC). Tip-off in the 205th all-time meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman is set for 8 p.m. inside of Holt Fieldhouse.
 
The Lincoln Memorial/Carson-Newman rivalry is one of the oldest and most competitive rivalries in the history of NCAA Division II men's basketball. The Railsplitters own a narrow 103-101 edge in an all-time series history that dates back to 1923, and the series has been particularly interesting of late.
 
In last season's trip to Jefferson City, the Railsplitters suffered a 111-109 overtime loss to the Eagles on a buzzer-beating jumper from Malik Abraham. However, Lincoln Memorial returned the favor with a 108-76 beatdown in Carson-Newman's return trip to Harrogate and later blasted the Eagles 105-62 in the SAC Championship semifinals to record the most lopsided win by either team since the 1972-73 campaign.
 
Blowouts have largely been the theme in recent years in the LMU/Carson-Newman series. Excluding Carson-Newman's overtime win in 2016 as well as the Eagles' two-point win in 2014, 10 of the last 12 games matchups have been decided by double figures.    
 
This year could be a different story, though, as the Railsplitters and Eagles are playing at an immensely high level and command the two longest winning streaks in the South Atlantic Conference.
 
Lincoln Memorial pushed its winning streak to four games and captured its 23rd straight SAC win – the second longest streak of its kind in conference history - on Saturday evening with a 73-72 triumph over the previously-unbeaten Royals. In that contest, the Railsplitters trailed 34-20 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half but closed on a 13-2 run to trim the halftime deficit to 36-33. After a back-and-forth second half, Lincoln Memorial took the lead for good on Trevon Shaw's game-winning three-pointer with 1:14 left and held on for dear life down the stretch to pick up the program's first-ever win over the nation's top-ranked team.
 
The Railsplitters found away to win in a tough environment on the road against one of the nation's last remaining unbeaten teams despite dealing with some self-inflicted harm. Lincoln Memorial turned the ball over a season-high 24 times and gave up 13 offensive boards, helping Queens attempt 18 more shots in the contest. LMU also dealt with massive foul trouble as Dorian Pinson fouled out with five minutes left while Shaw, Emanuel Terry and Josh Odem finished with four fouls apiece.
 
While everything fell apart on the offensive end of the floor, the Railsplitters relied on their defense to spark the comeback, holding Queens to 39 percent shooting including a 7-for-26 effort from three-point range. LMU also eliminated the Royals' star player from the game, limiting Todd Withers to seven points and eight rebounds over 29 minutes of action.
 
That win moved Lincoln Memorial into sole possession of first place in the SAC standings and poll position to host the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in March.
 
Carson-Newman won its sixth straight game on Saturday with a wacky 81-66 overtime victory at Wingate, which was the largest margin of victory in an overtime game by a SAC team in the last eight years. The Eagles were led to the rare 15-point overtime win by sensational senior guard Charles Clark, who scored 13 of his 31 points in the overtime period.
 
With that win, the Eagles, who were ranked 18th in the most recent D2SIDA media poll, sit just two games back of Lincoln Memorial in the SAC standings in third place.
 
The Railsplitters will be led into Wednesday night's clash by the trio of Pinson, Shaw and Terry, who were each named to the Bevo Francis Award top 100 watch list on Monday. Shaw is averaging 18.3 points per game and has hit a SAC-leading 75 three-pointers this season, while Terry is putting up 18 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while shooting an absurd 70 percent from the field. Pinson is a triple-double waiting to happen with 13.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per-game averages. Cornelius Taylor has also been superb in his sophomore campaign, contributing 13.9 points and 4.4 assists per game.
 
The Eagles are also led by a veteran trio in Charles Clark, Malik Abraham and Shaun Jones, but Clark is the unquestioned star of the show for head coach Chuck Benson's squad. Clark leads the SAC in scoring with 22.5 points per game and is doing so while shooting 51 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from three. He is also adding 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The reigning SAC Player of the Year is ranked third all-time in SAC history in scoring with 2,069 career points.
 
Behind Clark, Abraham is putting up 12.1 points per game and shooting 47 percent from three, while Jones is adding 10.5 points and a team-leading 5.7 rebounds per contest. Junior Grant Teichmann and senior Josh Murray have also made an impact. Teichmann is scoring 9.8 points a night, while Murray is adding 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-best 1.8 blocks per contest.
 
The Eagles have won 15 consecutive games at Holt Fieldhouse, and all but two of those games have been decided by at least 10 points. It's been over a full calendar year since Carson-Newman's last home loss (January 7, 2017), and the Eagles are shooting a blistering 56 percent from the field and 46 percent from three during that 15-game streak. On the flip side, Lincoln Memorial has won 14 consecutive road games dating back to its last regular-season road loss on January 9, 2017.
 
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The game will be broadcast locally on MyVLT, while live stats and audio links are available at www.lmurailsplitters.com.
 
Quick Hits
 
- Carson-Newman is one of the better offensive teams in the SAC, ranking second in the league in scoring (88.1 points per game), field-goal percentage (51.5) and made free throws per game (16.1). The Eagles are also solid on the defensive end, holding opponents to 74.7 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting.
 
- The Eagles haven't lost since suffering a 92-81 setback at Queens on December 13. Since then, they have beaten Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, Johnson C. Smith, Catawba, Tusculum and Wingate.
 
- Lincoln Memorial's current 23-game SAC winning streak is second only to the 29-game conference winning streak the Railsplitters put together from February 7, 2015 to February 27, 2016. Coincidentally, Carson-Newman ended that streak with last season's 111-109 overtime triumph.
 
- Head coach Josh Schertz will be coaching in his 304th career game at Lincoln Memorial. Over that time, he has pieced together a 249-54 cumulative record.