HARROGATE, Tenn. – The third-ranked Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team hosts its second top-25 matchup of the season Saturday afternoon with 22nd-ranked Catawba visiting B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena for a 4 p.m. tip-off. Presented by Home Federal Bank, the Railsplitters (14-1, 7-0) and Indians (11-2, 6-1) battle as league and NCAA Division II Southeast Region leaders with LMU looking to remain perfect in South Atlantic Conference play and at home.
 
How to Follow
Saturday afternoon's game will be streamed live via SAC Live on Stretch Internet, while live statistics of the game can be followed by visiting LMURailsplitters.com. As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Opening Tip
- The Railsplitters enter the weekend holding the longest winning streak in all of NCAA Division II men's basketball at 14 games, the longest for LMU since winning 21 straight during the 2017-18 season.
- Ranked in the top five of both national polls for the first time since ending the 2017-18 season as the top team in the nation, the Railsplitters are held steady at No. 3 in the latest National Association Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 poll released Tuesday afternoon. In this week's D2SIDA Media Poll, LMU climbed two spots to No. 4. It marks the fourth-straight week the Railsplitters have been ranked among the top five teams in the country and 45th week in program history.
- Since Nov. 25, 2019, LMU has been ranked at the top of the D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll and continues to lead the regional rankings after receiving five first-place votes in Monday's first poll of the new year.
- Catawba visits Tex Turner Arena ranked No. 22 in NABC Top 25 poll and 16th in the media poll. Although not receiving any first place votes, the Indians are ranked second in the most recent D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll.
- Saturday's tilt will be the second top-25 matchup to take place in Harrogate this season after then 12th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte was defeated 73-64 by the then eighth-ranked Railsplitters on Dec. 7. That game also featured the top two teams in the SAC and NCAA Division Southeast Region at the time.
- Catawba will be the seventh team LMU has faced this season who was either ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the two national polls when the Railsplitters took them on. LMU began the season with an overtime neutral-site loss at the hands of then seventh-ranked West Texas A&M in the fourth annual Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Saint Joseph, Missouri, before blowing past receiving-votes/No. 22 Davenport. The Railsplitters defeated both USC Aiken and Christian Brothers at home while they were receiving votes, and routed Wingate on the road when the Bulldogs were receiving votes in both national polls.
- LMU continues to lead the country in defensive field-goal percentage (36.8%) and is tops in the land in defensive rebounds per game (32.7), while second in scoring margin (24.8).
- Owning a 22-12 all-time record, the Railsplitters and Indians will meet for the 35th time on the hardwood Saturday. LMU has won 12 of the last 13 and 16 of the last 18 outings with Catawba and are 14-2 versus the Indians in Harrogate. Prior to a 96-83 loss at Catawba last January, the Railsplitters had won 11-straight in the series.
- Avenging its earlier loss, LMU defeated the Indians 81-74 on senior night last season. The last time Catawba earned a win inside Tex Turner Arena was on Feb. 20, 2008 (70-67).
 - Saturday afternoon marks the second time the Indians have visited Harrogate nationally ranked. The unranked Railsplitters defeated then 11th-ranked Catawba 85-70 on Jan. 21, 2009.
 
Winning Ugly
Despite perplexing and unusual cool shooting, not to mention 13 first-half turnover, LMU found a way to pull out a 76-64 win over visiting UVA Wise Wednesday night. In the first-ever SAC meeting between the two programs, the Railsplitters overcame 36.7 percent shooting and only 11 made field goals in the opening 20 minutes of action. Holding the Cavaliers to 32.1 percent from the floor for the night and 17 total made field goals, LMU used a 45-point second half and 50 percent second-half shooting for its 14th consecutive victory. The Railsplitters rallied from a five-point deficit in the second half and closed the game on a 30-13 run over the final 11-and-a-half minutes of play.
 
Head Coach Josh Schertz Wins No. 300
Wednesday night's win was head coach Josh Schertz' 300th of his remarkable career. He needed just 365 games as a head coach to reach the career milestone. Coach Schertz now owns an astonishing 300-65 (.822) record in 12 seasons at the helm of the LMU men's basketball program.
 
Distance from the Rest
Nine of the Railsplitters' 14 victories thus far this season have come in dominant fashion. Owning an astounding seven wins by at least 31 points and nine by 20 or more, LMU has outscored its competition by 372 points through just 15 games. On Dec. 15, the Railsplitters defeated visiting NAIA member Tennessee Wesleyan by 60 points (122-62) for their largest margin of victory since pummeling Mars Hill by 87 (156-69) in December of 2017. LMU has notched wins of 60, 50, 47, 40, 37, 32, 31, 26 and 20 points this season. During their 14-game win streak, the Railsplitters have defeated their opponents by an impressive average of 27.3 points.
 
Among Statistical Leaders
In addition to leading the nation in field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebounding, not to mention ranking second in scoring margin, LMU is among the elite in several other offensive and defensive statistical categories. The Railsplitters are ranked third nationally in assists (299), seventh in both assists per game (19.9) and shooting (51.5%), eighth in free-throw shooting (80.4%), ninth in three pointers made (161), 10th in scoring 92.1 (PPG), 12th in steals (138), 15th in total rebounds (604), 21st in three-point field goal defense (30.1%), 22nd in three pointers attempted (418), 23rd in both steals per game (9.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.46), 26th in scoring defense (67.3 PPG), 29th in three pointers made per game (10.7) and 30th in turnovers forced per game (17.1).
 
Standout Sophomore Campaign
There has been no sophomore slump for sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley, who became the second Railsplitter to be named SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week prior to the Christmas break on Dec. 23. The 6-foot-5 swingman had his most impressive outing of his collegiate career Wednesday, Dec. 18 by scoring a career-high 44 points in the 97-77 home win over Lenoir-Rhyne. Going 17-for-25 from the field and 8-for-10 from beyond the arc, McCauley's 44 points were the most scored by an LMU player in a single game in the program's NCAA era and the most since Nick Sanford also scored 44 against Saint Michael's in 1987. Furthermore, his 44 points tied for the seventh-most in a single game in Railsplitter history. McCauley pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out four assists to help LMU defeat the Bears, before notching 14 points and making a steal in the thrilling 77-75 win at Kentucky Wesleyan. The Indianapolis native averaged 29 points on 61.1 percent (22-of-36) shooting, including 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from three-point distance, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the week. In Wednesday night's win over UVA Wise, McCauley scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed a season-high tying 11 rebounds for his fourth career double-double and second of the season. He is the only Railsplitter to have scored in double figures every game this season and is ranked among the best players in the nation in several offensive statistical categories. McCauley ranks sixth nationally in three pointers made (53), 14th in total points (314), 17th in three pointers attempted (117), 18th in field goals made (110), 19th in field goal attempts (226), 20th in three pointers made per game (3.5), 31st in three-point shooting (45.3%) and 36th in scoring (20.9 PPG).
 
Whitfield a 1,000-Point Scorer
It took redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield just five games to get acclimated into coach Schertz' offensive system after transferring to Harrogate from fellow Division II member Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville and sitting out the 2018-19 season. The 6-foot-5 wingman has reached double-figure scoring in nine of his last 11 games and had his best performance donning the Blue and Gray last weekend. Going 11-for-18 from the floor and 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, Whitfield scored 10 points during a 12-3 LMU run late in the first half at Newberry this past Saturday and racked up 20 with four three pointers during a 7:37 stretch of play spanning across both halves. The Lipscomb, Alabama, native finished with a season-high 32 points in the 87-61 road win over the Wolves and now owns two 30-point outings this season after totaling 31 points in the Railsplitters' 37-point road blowout of Wingate on Nov. 23. He has scored 20 points or more on seven different occasions and currently ranks 21st in the nation and leads the conference in free-throw shooting (90.2%) among those who meet NCAA minimums. After scoring a remarkable 907 points in two seasons at Trevecca Nazarene, Whitfield scored his 1,000th career point during the win at Wingate. Whitfield has amassed an impressive 1,172 points in only 66 collegiate games played.
 
Decade of Excellence
Closing the books on one of the best decades of basketball among all NCAA levels, LMU achieved unheralded success from 2010 until the start of 2020 last week. Below are some of the Railsplitters' biggest accomplishments.

• 254-50 (.836) overall record
• 148-13 (.919) record inside Tex Turner Arena
• 174-28 (.861) SAC record
• 11 SAC titles, including seven regular season championships (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and four SAC Tournament titles (2011, 2014, 2016, 2018)
• Eight-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2011-18)
• Two Elite Eight appearances (2016 and 2017)
• Two national semifinal appearances (2016 and 2017)
• One NCAA title game appearance (2016)
• Eight All-Americans (Emanuel Terry, 2018; Dorian Pinson, 2018; Chris Perry, 2017; Luquon Choice, 2017; Gerel Simmons, 2016; Lorenza Ross, 2015; Vincent Bailey, 2014; Desmond Johnson, 2011)
• 37 All-SAC selections with 18 first-team picks

 
Railsplitters at Home
Inside Tex Turner Arena, LMU has registered a .929 (143-11) winning percentage over the past 10 seasons. Entering the 2019-20 season, the Railsplitters 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 LMU during that span. Since coach Schertz took over the reins of the program prior to the 2008-09 campaign, the Railsplitters have gone 166-16 (.912) in home contests.
 
Standard of Success
LMU has finished within the top two of the final SAC standings each of 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 only 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 Railsplitter men's basketball program in March of 2008, head coach Josh Schertz has amassed a remarkable 300-65 (.822) record over 12 seasons. Entering the 2019-20 season, Schertz' career winning percentage (.817) was the fifth-highest of all head coaches 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 (.843) and Mark Few, Gonzaga (.826) - and owns the second-highest winning percentage among Division II leaders.
 
No. 22 Catawba | 2019-20 Record: 11-2, 6-1 SAC

• The 2019 SAC Tournament champion Indians were picked to finish third in the 12-team league according to the conference's preseason poll after tying for second place with LMU in the final standings last season. Catawba went 25-8 overall a year ago and was 14-6 in SAC play, earning the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament. The Indians defeated seventh-seeded Anderson, sixth-seeded Wingate and fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne for the league's tournament title. After earning an 80-61 win over UNC Pembroke in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, Catawba had its season come to a close against regional host and fellow SAC member Queens (96-93).
• Led by sixth-year head coach Rob Perron, the Indians feature four double-figure scorers led by preseason All-SAC Second Team 6-foot-2 senior guard Devin Cooper (18.4 PPG) who also leads the team in assists (4.7 APG). Returning All-SAC Second Team 6-foot senior guard Marcell Haskett is averaging 18.2 points a game, while 6-foot-6 junior guard Larry McLeod is scoring 12.2 points a contest. Leading Catawba in rebounding (7.8 RPG), 6-foot-7 senior forward Daquan Lilly is also double-figure scorer (11.9 PPG).
• A transfer laden squad, the Indians own the 16th-highest scoring offense in the nation (90.4 PPG) and are 12th nationally in rebounds per game (42.2). Catawba also ranks in the top 10 in free throw makes (6th/281) and attempts (9th/375).
• The Indians' lone SAC loss this season came in double overtime at home to Newberry (91-84) on Nov. 26 and Catawba has since defeated Tusculum (75-71), UVA Wise (109-87), Mars Hill (94-76), Wingate (88-79), Carson-Newman (98-91) and Coker (85-81) in league play. In fact, both of the Indians' losses in 2019-20 have come in overtime as Catawba dropped its season opener 95-90 in overtime at UNC Pembroke.

 
Looking Ahead
The Railsplitters wrap up their three-game homestand Wednesday, Jan. 15 by hosting Mars Hill before hitting the road for a pair of games Saturday, Jan. 18 at Anderson and Wednesday, Jan. 22 at Tusculum. Wednesday night's affair with the Lions is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip with the game presented by Commercial Bank.  
 
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.