HARROGATE, Tenn. – Currently on a national-best 16-game winning streak, the third-ranked Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team hits the road for a pair of games beginning with a trip to Anderson University Saturday afternoon. Tip-off of the South Atlantic Conference matchup is slated for 4 p.m. from inside the Abney Athletic Center in Anderson, South Carolina.
 
The Railsplitters (16-1, 9-0) are going for their 14th consecutive victory over the host Trojans (9-6, 4-5) and have won six straight at Anderson.
 
How to Follow
Saturday afternoon's tilt will be streamed live via SAC Live on Stretch Internet, while live statistics of the game can be followed by visiting AUTrojans.com. As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Opening Tip
- Currently at 16 games, LMU holds the longest winning streak in all of NCAA Division II men's basketball. It is the most consecutive wins for the Railsplitters since earning 21-straight victories two years ago during the 2017-18 season. LMU has not lost since an overtime neutral-site setback to top-five ranked West Tex A&M in the season opener at the fourth annual Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Saint Joseph, Missouri.
- Unblemished at home and in SAC play, the Railsplitters' nine conference wins and 10 home victories are both second-most nationally. Furthermore, LMU's 16 total wins are tied for the third-most among all Division II programs.
- For the second-straight week, the Railsplitters are ranked in the top five of both national polls. Last week, LMU landed a spot in the top five of both rankings for the first time since ending the 2017-18 season as the top team in the land.
- The Railsplitters are steady at No. 3 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 poll, marking the third-straight week LMU has been ranked third in the coaches poll.
- In the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, the Railsplitters jumped one spot to No. 3 after ranking fourth in the first national media poll of the new year last week. Most importantly, LMU received one first-place vote in the D2SIDA Media poll for the first time of 2019-20.
- Only top-ranked Bellarmine (13-0) and defending national champion Northwest Missouri State (15-1) rank ahead of the Railsplitters in both national polls. Bellarmine is receiving all 16 first-place nods in the NABC Top 25 and 14 first-place votes in the media poll, while the Bearcats are receiving one first-place acknowledgement in the D2SIDA Media Poll.
- This week's national polls mark the fifth-straight week LMU has been ranked among the top five teams in the country and 46th week in program history.
- Fellow SAC members Queens University of Charlotte and Catawba also appear in the national polls with the Royals receiving votes in the NABC Top 25 and ranking 16th in the media poll. The Indians are ranked 25th in the D2SIDA Media Poll and are receiving votes in the coaches poll.
- Since Nov. 25, 2019, the Railsplitters have been ranked at the top of the D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll and continue to lead the regional rankings after receiving all six first-place votes this week. Queens is ranked second in the regional poll, followed Catawba and Belmont Abbey. 
- LMU owns six victories over teams who were either ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the two national polls when the Railsplitters defeated them. Three of those are top-25 wins with LMU ousting then 22nd-ranked Davenport (D2SIDA Media Poll) 98-48 on Nov. 2, then 12th-ranked Queens (NABC Top 25) 73-64 on Dec. 7 and then 22nd-ranked Catawba (NABC Top 25) 110-85 last Saturday.
- The Railsplitters continue to lead the nation in both field-goal percentage defense (37.5%) and defensive rebounding (32.8 RPG), while third in scoring margin (24.6), fifth in shooting (52.1%) and eighth in scoring (93.6 PPG).
- Owning a 15-7 all-time record versus Anderson, LMU has won 13 consecutive meetings with the Trojans. The Railsplitters' last loss to Anderson took place on Nov. 26, 2013, in an overtime home affair. Last December in South Carolina, LMU won a 102-101 overtime thriller against the Trojans when redshirt senior forward Rhondi Hackett laid in a game-winning put-back layup with 0.4 seconds remaining. The Railsplitters went on to rout Anderson 95-72 in Harrogate last February.
- Having not lost a road matchup with the Trojans since an overtime outing on Jan. 14, 2012, LMU is 7-2 in Anderson.
 
What Cam Can Do
Redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry was nothing short of sensational Wednesday night inside Tex Turner Arena, powering the Railsplitters to a 100-79 triumph over Mars Hill with a near-triple-double effort. Helping LMU reach the century mark for the fifth time of the season, Henry recorded a career-high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting with a career-best five steals. The 6-foot-6 swingman tied his career high with eight assists and pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds, going 9-for-10 on two-point field goal attempts and posting his second-straight double-double and fourth of 2019-20. Behind Henry's strongest performance donning the Blue and Gray, the Railsplitters assisted on 26 of their 39 made field goals, held a plus-10 margin on the glass (45-35) and had four of five starters reach double-figure scoring.
 
Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List Members
On Wednesday, sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley and senior point guard Anthony Brown were named to the 2020 Bevo Francis Award Top 100 watch list as announced by Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee. Presented annually, the Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is given to the player who has the finest overall season within Small College Basketball (non-Division I). The two guards joined an illustrious list of former LMU players who have been named to the Bevo Francis Award watch list in recent years, including Jalen Steele (2016), Luquon Choice (2016 and 2017), Dorian Pinson (2017 and 2018), Trevon Shaw (2018), Emanuel Terry (2018) and Cornelius Taylor (2019). All-American Terry won the national player of the year award in 2018 after compiling a remarkable 126-14 career record donning the Blue and Gray. It marks the fifth-straight year the Railsplitters have had at least one player named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 watch list.
 
Voss is the Boss
Courvoisier "Voss" McCauley, who landed a spot on last year's SAC All-Freshman Team, has been anything but shy of impressive in his sophomore campaign. The 6-foot-5 swingman has already twice been named SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week (Dec. 23 and Jan. 13) and scored a career-high 44 points in LMU's 97-77 home win over Lenoir-Rhyne (Dec. 18). McCauley's 44 points were the most scored by a Railsplitter 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 LMU history. Owning a pair of double-doubles, McCauley has reached double figures in all 17 of the Railsplitters' games this season and has had nine 20-point outings and two 30-point performances. The Indianapolis (Manuel HS), native racked up 36 points on Nov. 9 during LMU's 83-72 non-conference home victory over USC Aiken and ranks among the top players in the nation in several offensive statistical categories. McCauley is eighth nationally in made three pointers (60) while ranking 16th in the country in both three pointers made per game (3.5) and points scored (361), 17th in three-point shooting (46.2%), 21st in made field goals (127), 29th in both field goal attempts (252) and three-point field goal attempts (130), and 32nd in scoring (21.2 PPG). He is shooting 50 percent from the field overall and 78 percent at the free-throw line, not to mention averaging 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
 
High-Flying Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown, a 2019 All-SAC honorable mention performer and preseason All-SAC First Team pick, has been outstanding as the Railsplitters' starting floor general. Recently propelled by a pair of high-flying highlight-reel dunks, Brown has claimed two double-doubles on the season including an 18-point, 10-rebound afternoon in the season opener against top-five ranked West Texas A&M. The 6-foot-1 guard also had a 15-point, 10-assist and six-rebound output in the 60-point, 122-62 home rout of Tennessee Wesleyan (Dec. 15). A Clermont, Florida (Lake Minneola HS), native and Indian River State College transfer, Brown has posted 10 double-figure scoring games in 2019-20 and notched 10 assists or more twice. Coming off of an 18-point, eight-rebound, five assist output on 8-of-10 shooting against Mars Hill Wednesday night, Brown ranks 10th among all Division II players and leads the league with a 3.5 assist/turnover ratio. He is 40th nationally and second in the conference in total assists (83), while ranking 47th and second in the SAC in assists per game (5.2). Averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, Brown is shooting a highly-efficient 60.8 percent from the floor to rank second among all players in the 12-team league.
 
Southeast Region Supremacy
Sitting atop the NCAA Division II Southeast Region, LMU has already defeated the other two top-three contenders in the region. Facing both then 12th-ranked Queens and then 22nd-ranked Catawba in battles of SAC and Southeast Region leaders, the Railsplitters held their ground and came away with convincing victories. LMU took down the Royals on Dec. 7 by a 73-64 score and ousted the Indians by 25 (110-85) last Saturday.
 
Head Coach Josh Schertz Wins No. 300
The Railsplitters' 76-64 win over UVA Wise on Wednesday, Jan. 8 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 302-65 (.823) record in 12 seasons at the helm of the LMU men's basketball program.
 
Distance from the Rest
Eleven of the Railsplitters' 16 victories thus far this season have come in dominant fashion. Owning an astounding seven wins by at least 31 points and 11 by 20 or more, LMU has outscored its competition by 418 points through 17 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, 25, 21 and 20 points this season. During their 16-game win streak, the Railsplitters have defeated their opponents by an impressive average of 26.8 points.
 
Among Statistical Leaders
In addition to its field-goal percentage defense, defensive rebounding, scoring margin, shooting and points per game, LMU is among the elite teams in the nation in several other offensive and defensive statistical categories. The Railsplitters are ranked ninth in free-throw shooting (79.6%), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5), 11th in three-point field goal defense (30%), 12th in made three pointers (186), 16th in total rebounds (685), 22nd in total steals (149), 24th in three pointers per game (10.9), 27th in three-point field goal attempts (474), 30th in three-point shooting (39.2%), 33rd in rebounding (40.3 RPG) and 34th in steals per game (8.8).
 
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 10 of his last 13 games and had his best performance wearing the Blue and Gray in LMU's 87-61 road win at Newberry (Jan. 4), scoring a season-high 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting with five three pointers. Whitfield 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 eight different occasions and currently ranks 30th in the nation and third in the conference in free-throw shooting (88.1%) 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. The Lipscomb, Alabama, native has amassed an impressive 1,198 points in only 68 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

 
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 302-65 (.823) 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 (.844) and Mark Few, Gonzaga (.827) - and owns the second-highest winning percentage among Division II leaders.
 
Anderson | 2019-20 Record: 9-6, 4-5 SAC

• The Trojans enter Saturday coming off of back-to-back league wins over Coker (83-61) at home Wednesday night and at Mars Hill (84-77) last Saturday. Anderson has also defeated Lenoir-Rhyne (87-79) and Carson-Newman (75-71) in home conference games this season. The team's five SAC losses have come at Queens (78-74), at UVA Wise (90-75), at Newberry (76-67), at Tusculum (70-54) and versus Wingate (90-81).
• Owning a 5-1 record at home this season, the Trojans have an 11-point (75-64) win over Belmont Abbey, who ranks fourth in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll.
• Anderson was picked to finish eighth in the conference according to the SAC's preseason poll after going 10-10 in the 12-team league a year ago and sitting in seventh place in the final standings. The Trojans went 16-13 overall in 2018-19 and fell in the opening round of the SAC Tournament to second-seeded Catawba.
• Featuring three double-figure scorers, Anderson has junior 6-foot forward Quin Nottingham who leads the team with 21.7 points a game. Redshirt senior 5-foot-11 guard Shawn Benard, a preseason All-SAC Second Team pick, leads the team in assists (4.9 APG) and is second on the team in scoring (17.8 PPG), while 6-foot-8 junior forward Josh Livingston is averaging 12.4 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per contest.
• The Trojans are led by fifth-year head coach Jeff Brookman, who has posted a 55-75 record (.423) at the helm.

 
Looking Ahead
The Railsplitters remain on the road for one more game before returning to the comforts of Tex Turner Arena. LMU will travel to nearby Greeneville, Tennessee, Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. midweek tip-off inside Pioneer Arena prior to hosting Coker at 4 p.m. next Saturday, Jan. 25.
 
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.