HARROGATE, Tenn. – For the fourth time of the young season, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team will take on a team receiving votes national preseason poll when Christian Brothers out of the Gulf South Conference visits the friendly confines of B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena Saturday at 2 p.m. The Saturday matinee matchup will be the fourth all-time meeting between the Railsplitters (3-1) and Buccaneers (1-1).
 
How to Follow
The game will be streamed live on the LMU Sports Network with the voice of the Railsplitters, Rusty Peace, providing play-by-play commentary. Live statistics of the matchup can be followed by visiting LMURailsplitters.com, while in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Home Opening Victories
Last weekend, sixth-ranked LMU opened up its home slate by earning an 87-55 win over Clayton State in the 2019 South Atlantic vs. Peach Belt Conference Challenge. The Railsplitters followed up their 32-point Friday night drubbing of the Lakers with a gritty 83-72 triumph against receiving-votes USC Aiken. Over 50 percent of LMU's scoring in both games came in the paint as the Railsplitters outscored Clayton State 50-12 in the paint and the Pacers, 44-28. After out-rebounding the Lakers 50-37 Friday night, LMU shot 53.4 percent (31-for-58) against USC Aiken Saturday.
 
Dealing Dimes
Through four games of the 2019-20 season, the Railsplitters rank ninth nationally in assists with LMU assisting on 66 of its 130 made baskets (.508). The Railsplitters lead the 12-team South Atlantic Conference in that category and are averaging 16.5 assists per game, which is third-best in the league and 58th in the nation. Senior guard Anthony Brown has been LMU's main distributer, dishing out 18 assists to rank 22nd in the country. His 4.5 assists per contest are also among conference leaders.
 
Cleaning the Glass
The Railsplitters have been diligent on the boards and are currently ranked 10th nationally in total rebounds (171). Averaging 42.8 rebounds per game, LMU owns an 8.5 rebounding margin over its opponents, which is second-highest in the SAC, while its 33.8 defensive rebounds per contest are the 14th-most nationally.
 
Defensive Point of Emphasis
Entering the 2019-20 season, head coach Josh Schertz wondered how his team would hold up defensively against one of the most challenging non-conference schedule. Take away the Railsplitters' season opener against seventh-ranked West Texas A&M and LMU is giving up only 58.33 points per game after holding both receiving-votes Davenport and Clayton State to under 56 points. Over their last three games, the Railsplitters have held teams to 34.5 percent (61-of-177) shooting from the field. LMU currently ranks in the top 25 nationally in both field-goal percentage defense (36.7%) and scoring margin (20.8) after outscoring its opponents by 83 (357-274) and holding teams to 68.5 points per outing through the first four games. Furthermore, the Railsplitters have been able to force turnovers, averaging 8.5 per game and ranking 11th in the nation with 34 takeaways.
 
Voss is the Boss
Courvoisier McCauley, who is simply known as "Voss", had back-to-back double-figure scoring games last weekend. The 6-foot-5 guard claimed 13 points, assisted on three baskets and made two steals in LMU's home-opening blowout of the Lakers Friday night. The sophomore then had a career game in the Railsplitters' hard-fought victory over USC Aiken Saturday afternoon, scoring a career-high 36 points on 11-of-19 (.579) shooting, securing five boards and making three steals. He went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line and was 5-for-11 (.455) from deep against the Pacers, scoring 13 of LMU's final 16 points of the game. McCauley's 36-point performance are the most points scored by a Railsplitter since Trevon Shaw also had 36 at Newberry in December of 2017. The Indianapolis, Indiana, native averaged 27.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two games while shooting 50 percent (16-of-32) from the field and going 6-for-18 (.333) from beyond the arc. He ranks near the top 10 nationally in several statistical categories, including seventh in made three-pointers (15), 10th in both total field goals (32) and points (94), 11th in total field goal attempts (66) and third in three-point field goal attempts (37).
 
Double-Double Henry
Fellow sophomore Cameron Henry has also been impressive for LMU early, recording back-to-back double-doubles last weekend. The Chesterfield, Virginia, guard pulled down a career-high 14 boards and scored 12 points in the win over Clayton State and followed up that performance with 10 rebounds and 11 points in the USC Aiken victory for his third career double-double. Henry ranks 12th nationally in total rebounds (36) and is among the nation's top 25 in defensive rebounds per game (8.5).
 
Railsplitters at Home
Inside Tex Turner Arena, the Railsplitters have registered a .926 (137-11) winning percentage this decade. Entering the 2019-20 season, LMU ranked sixth nationally at home in all of college basketball since 2010-11 with a .925 (135-11) winning percentage. Only West Liberty (.953), Bellarmine (.949), Kansas (.947), Kentucky (.942) and Duke (.929) owned a higher home court winning percentage than the Railsplitters during that span.
 
National Prominence
LMU is ranked No. 6 nationally according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) preseason poll and is tied for 13th in the preseason D2SIDA Media Poll. The Railsplitters also gained national attention from a pair of preseason publications with the Blue and Gray tabbed No. 6 by Division II Bulletin and No. 9 by Street & Smith's.
 
Strength of Schedule
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, four of LMU's first five opponents in 2019-20 are receiving votes in the national coaches poll. After taking on seventh-ranked West Texas A&M, who is fifth nationally according to the preseason D2SIDA Media Poll, and receiving votes Davenport, who is ranked 22nd in the preseason D2SIDA Media Poll, over the opening weekend, the Railsplitters hosted receiving-votes USC Aiken last weekend and now take on receiving-votes Christian Brothers at home Saturday.
 
Standard of Success
LMU has finished within the top two of the final SAC standings for the last nine years, spent 95-straight weeks in the national rankings from December 2010 to December 2016 and completed the season as the top team in the country in two of the last four seasons. The Railsplitters are one of four Division II programs to have posted 20 wins or more for 10 consecutive years. Only West Liberty (15), Bellarmine (11) and Indiana Pa. (11) can say the same. LMU has also reached the NCAA Tournament eight of the last nine seasons.
 
Coach Schertz Among the Elite
Since taking over the LMU men's basketball program in March of 2008, head coach Josh Schertz has amassed a remarkable 289-65 (.816) record over 12 seasons. Entering the 2019-20 season, Schertz' career winning percentage (.817) was the fifth-highest of any head coach in college basketball history at any NCAA level. Furthermore, Schertz ranks third among active head coaches with at least 10 years at the helm - Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern (.844) and Mark Few, Gonzaga (.823) - and owns the second-highest winning percentage among Division II leaders.
 
Christian Brothers | 2019-20 Record: 1-1, 0-0 Gulf South Conference

• The Bucs enter the weekend having faced just one opponent this season, taking on the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Central State University twice. Christian Brothers dropped a 70-61 decision to Central State on the road to begin 2019-20 before earning a 77-61 win over the Marauders in Memphis this past Sunday.
• Back in October, the Bucs took on NCAA Division I Memphis in an exhibition where they were outlasted 86-53.
• A season ago, Christian Brothers went 19-10 and finished fourth in the Gulf South Conference with a 14-6 league mark.
• The Bucs are under the direction of first-year head coach John T. Reilly, who headed to Memphis to lead Christian Brothers after a 14-year career as the head coach of Gannon University, where he finished as the all-time winningest coach with a 242-162 (.599) record.
• Picked to finish 10th in the 13-team Gulf South Conference, the Bucs have two transfers who topped the GSC Top Newcomers list. Junior guard Daryl Lewis, a transfer from Pensacola State College, and redshirt junior guard Mikeil Watkins from Shaw University are supposed to make a big impact for Christian Brothers this season.
• Lewis leads the team in scoring through two games, averaging 13 points and shooting 64.7 percent (11-for-17) from the field. Junior forward Jacob Lyons is also averaging double-figure scoring at 12 points per contest, while averaging 6.5 rebounds and going 11-for-15 (.733) from the field. Sophomore guard Nick Deifel has perhaps been the Bucs' most important player, averaging 9.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 76 minutes of action.
• LMU is 1-2 all-time against Christian Brothers but won the two teams' only other meeting in Harrogate, 83-61 (March 2, 1977). Last season, the Bucs picked up an 81-75 win over the Railsplitters in Memphis. On Feb. 18, 1970, Christian Brothers was a 79-69 victor against LMU in a neutral-site contest in Nashville.

 
Looking Ahead
The Railsplitters will have a short turnaround to prep for their next opponent, Johnson University (Tenn.), who they will see Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Tex Turner Arena. Following Tuesday's non-conference affair, LMU will begin SAC play with a trip to Wingate next Saturday, Nov. 23.
 
LMU L-Club
All LMU L-Club members receive basketball season tickets with premium seating available through silver and platinum memberships. Additional membership benefits include discounts at community partner locations, exclusive e-mail communications, VIP basketball parking and Tex Turner Arena hospitality room access. Become an LMU L-Club member today by visiting LMURailsplitters.com.  
 
On Social
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter basketball throughout the 2019-20 season.