MARS HILL, N.C. – After ascending back to the top of the NCAA Division II basketball world, the newly No. 1 nationally-ranked Railsplitters (19-1, 13-0 SAC) will attempt to reach the 20-win mark for the ninth consecutive season on Wednesday when they hit the road to face the Mars Hill Lions (3-16, 1-11 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action at 8 p.m.
 
The Railsplitters have won at least 20 games in eight of Josh Schertz's nine full seasons at Lincoln Memorial, with the only exclusion being his debut season in 2008-09 when the team went 14-14. LMU went 20-9 during the 2009-10 campaign and hasn't won less than 20 games since while ripping off seven consecutive 25-win efforts and three straight 30-win seasons.
 
Prior to Schertz's arrival, the LMU men's basketball program had just 13 20-win seasons on record. Before this current streak of eight straight 20-win seasons, the longest streak of that kind in program history was seven from 1982-89. However, only two of those seven squads surpassed 25 wins.   
 
In the first meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill back on December 11 at Tex Turner Arena, the Railsplitters memorably shattered the SAC record for points and three-pointers made, going an absolutely absurd 30-for-43 from deep in a 156-69 annihilation of the Lions. The 87-point margin of victory also destroyed the SAC record for largest point spread in a conference game, while the 156 points are the most by a Division II team this season.
 
The Railsplitters have continued to trend upward since that game as Lincoln Memorial enters Wednesday's contest riding a 27-game SAC winning streak, which is two away from matching the conference record they set during from 2014-16. The Railsplitters have won eight games in a row overall since falling to then No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State on December 19, and the team has won its last four games by margins of 44, 33, 29 and 39. In addition to all that, the Railsplitters also sport the nation's longest current road winning streak at 17 games. 
 
In complete contrast, Mars Hill has been down in the dumps of late. That 87-point loss at Lincoln Memorial kicked off a 10-game losing streak for Mars Hill, and all but one of those 10 setbacks came by double figures. The Lions did, however, snap that 10-game skid with a surprising 78-77 win over Carson-Newman in a game that was decided by a technical foul that was issued to the Eagles with 0.6 seconds left in regulation. Despite that win, Mars Hill is still dead last in the SAC standings with a 1-11 record.
 
The Railsplitters are coming off of a 103-59 beatdown of the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena. In that contest, LMU shot 61 percent from the field and held the Bears to 36 percent shooting, including a 2-for-15 effort from three. Cornelius Taylor scored a game-high 23 points to go along with five assists, while Dorian Pinson pitched in 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
That was just one more game in a long ling of magnificent performances this season for Pinson, who was christened as the AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week on Monday. Pinson, who also scored a career-high 30 points on 14-of-16 shooting in last Wednesday's 33-point win over Tusculum, is currently ranked among the top 10 in the SAC in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks while rankings fifth in field-goal percentage and sixth in three-point percentage.
 
With Pinson leading the charge on both ends of the floor, the Railsplitters are stunningly ranked first in the country in both field-goal percentage offense (55.3) and defense (36.4). Due to that, Lincoln Memorial is winning by a nation-leading 29.2 points per game.
 
On the flip side, Mars Hill has struggled immensely on both ends of the floor, ranking 295th out of 301 teams in field-goal percentage defense by allowing 49.2 percent shooting. The Lions give up the second-most points per game in the nation with 91, while the offense is only minimally more productive, scoring 74.7 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting. The Lions are getting outscored by an average of 16.3 points per game, ranked 297th in the country, while they are also near the bottom of the national rankings in rebounding margin (-6.1).
 
Senior Bennett Wilson leads the Lions with 12.1 points and 3.1 assists per game on 42.3 percent shooting, while sophomore Charles Moore is contributing 11.3 points and 2.8 assists per game. Austin Gilyard (10.8 ppg), Justen Hartfield (9.1 ppg) and Nassyr Daniel (8.9 ppg) are also regular contributors for Mars Hill. 
 
In the record-breaking first meeting, Trevon Shaw fell one point shy of tying his career high with 35 points on a program record 11-for-13 effort from three-point range. He was one of eight players in double figures for the Railsplitters, including Taylor (19), Deshawn Patterson (18), Alex Dahling (17) and Romeao Ferguson (14). Emanuel Terry sat out that contest while recovering from a minor injury but he will be back for Wednesday's matchup.
 
Gilyard led Mars Hill with 23 points while no other Lion finished with more than nine.
 
Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill is set for 8 p.m. in Mars Hill, N.C. Live stats and video are available at www.lmurailsplitters.com while fans can also listen along with Voice of the Railsplitters Rusty Peace at WLMU 91.3 The Gap.
 
Quick Hits
 
- The Railsplitters are 33-9 all-time against Mars Hill with wins in 17 consecutive games dating back to February 2010. Lincoln Memorial has won each of the last six by at least 23 points.
 
- LMU hasn't lost at Mars Hill since January 2009, reeling off eight straight on the road in the series. The Railsplitters captured an 86-51 win there last season. 
 
- LMU has not lost a true road game since a 103-101 overtime loss at Queens on January 9, 2017. The Railsplitters' 17-game road winning streak is seven more than any other team in the country.