SALISBURY, N.C. – Following an impressive non-conference win Sunday afternoon in Harrogate, the second-ranked Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team faces its second road test of 2020-21 Wednesday afternoon. The Railsplitters (3-0, 2-0 SAC) step back into South Atlantic Conference play and take on Catawba College in a rare 1 p.m. matinee inside Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, North Carolina.
 
The game is just the second contest for both teams in the month of December as LMU and the host Indians (1-2, 1-2 SAC) continue to navigate the challenges of playing in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
 
How to Follow
Wednesday afternoon's matchup will be streamed live via SAC Live on Stretch Internet and live statistics of the game can be followed by visiting GoCatawbaIndians.com. As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Railsplitters on the Road
Since head coach Josh Schertz has been at the helm, the Railsplitters have gone 115-35 (.767) in true road games and completed three undefeated seasons at opposing team's venues. Last year, LMU was a perfect 12-0 in true road games after owning that same record on the road in 2017-18 and 2014-15. It's been 654 days since the Railsplitters' last true road defeat, a two-point setback (85-83) at Lenoir-Rhyne on March 2, 2019.
 
Return to Play
Sunday afternoon's 93-68 home rout of visiting 11th-ranked The University of Alabama in Huntsville marked the first game back for LMU since its road win at Coker University on Nov. 24. Due to positive COVID-19 test results within the program, the Railsplitters had to go on a temporary 14-day pause in accordance with the SAC COVID-19 Return to Play Protocols for Basketball. Despite the 19-day break from competition on the hardwood, LMU showed very little signs of rust in Sunday's victory and reached its highest point total of the season thus far.
 
Near the Top
On the heels of their first top-15 win since Dec. 7, 2019, the Railsplitters remain ranked No. 2 in the nation with the second National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 regular season poll of 2020-21 announced Tuesday afternoon. LMU has held the No. 2 spot in the NABC Top 25 since Jan. 28 and was also ranked second in the preseason D2SIDA Media Poll. After earning the top seed and being selected as the host of the 2020 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Southeast Regional Championship, the Railsplitters were picked as the unanimous No. 1 team in the preseason D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll. With the challenges of COVID-19, 10 of the nation's top-25 programs still have yet to play a game this season. Several teams were removed from the NABC Top 25 following the announcement that they would no longer be eligible for the 2021 Division II Basketball Championship due to delayed season starts. LMU has spent 138 weeks in the national polls since December of 2010.
 
Racing Past the Chargers
Using a 57-point second half behind 58.6 percent shooting, the Railsplitters dominated No. 11 UAH 93-68 Sunday afternoon inside B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena. Holding the Chargers to 28 first-half points, LMU took a six-point lead into halftime and never looked back after the break. Connecting on just four of their 18 first-half tries from behind the arc, the Railsplitters reversed things in the final 20 minutes of play as LMU shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from deep in the second half. Behind 18 second-half points from redshirt senior guard Devin Whitfield, who made his first start of 2020-21, the Railsplitters appeared to be unstoppable on the offensive end of the court. LMU assisted on 27 of its 31 made field goals in the top-15 showdown and claimed its first win over UAH since February of 2003. Physical on the glass, the Railsplitters held a plus-five rebounding margin (40-35) and got a stellar performance from junior Jordan Guest. Whitfield and redshirt junior guard Cameron Henry were also spectacular in the old Gulf South Conference rivalry. Scoring 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Whitfield knocked down five three pointers and handed out four assists. Henry simply filled up the stat sheet, scoring 18 points, dishing out a game-best eight assists, grabbing five rebounds and tying his career high in steals with five.
 
Be my Guest
A native of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Guest became the first LMU player to be tabbed SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week Monday morning. The 6-foot-9 forward was magnificent in Sunday's non-conference triumph over the Chargers, posting career numbers with his first double-double in a Railsplitter jersey. Despite only playing 25 minutes, Guest was nothing shy of authoritative in helping lead LMU to its nation-leading 35th-straight win. He imposed his will with a double-double in the first half alone, finishing the game with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting, 15 rebounds and three assists. Scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 boards before the half, the Tallahassee Community College and Boston University transfer went 3-for-5 from distance and had a block, not to mention drawing six fouls.
 
Staying Hot
Coming off their best season in terms of winning percentage (.970), the Railsplitters pushed their longest win streak in program history to 35 versus 11th-ranked UAH. The 35-straight victories are also the most consecutive by a SAC team and represent the longest active winning streak in all of college basketball. LMU has won 24-straight conference games after going an unblemished 22-0 in 2019-20 for its third undefeated league season in the last five years. Finishing 32-1 overall last year, the Railsplitters have dropped just one game in the last 649 days and 410 days have passed since LMU's last loss.
 
Preseason Accolades
Both Whitfield, the 2020 SAC Tournament MVP, and Henry, the reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Year, were selected as preseason All-Americans by Basketball Times. The all-region tandem also landed a spot on the preseason All-SAC First Team and are two of the top returning players in all of Division II basketball. Whitfield has scored 1,570 points in his collegiate career, while Henry led the conference in steals (71) and was second in rebounding (8.0 RPG) in 2019-20. Henry currently leads the Railsplitters in scoring (17.3 PPG) and assists (6.7 APG) this season and is second in rebounding (6.3 RPG).
 
Versus the Indians
LMU is 24-12 all-time against Catawba and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings with the Indians. However, Catawba owns a slight 9-8 edge over the Railsplitters in games played in Salisbury, North Carolina. In LMU's latest trip to Catawba on Feb. 22 of this year, the Railsplitters were 105-88 victors behind Whitfield's 27 points. Shooting 54 percent from the field, LMU hit 40 percent of its three-point attempts and earned 29 free throws. Both of the Railsplitters' last two losses at the hands of the Indians came in Salisbury. Catawba upended LMU 96-83 on Jan. 12, 2019, and defeated the Railsplitters 73-63 on Feb. 2, 2013. Wednesday afternoon's game marks LMU's earliest road trip to Salisbury in the season since 2011-12 when the Railsplitters took on the Indians in North Carolina on Dec. 3.
 
About LMU Basketball
The second-winningest Division II program of the 2010's (.845), LMU has won 13 total SAC titles since 2011. Selected as the top seed and host of the Division II Men's Basketball Southeast Regional Championship four of the last six years, the Railsplitters have ended the season ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 three times in the last five seasons. The only school in Division II to have reached 30 wins in five of the last six years, LMU is one of only four Division II programs to have recorded 20 wins or more for 11-straight seasons. The Railsplitters have notched at least 25 wins and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament nine of the last 10 seasons. Inside Tex Turner Arena LMU has registered the second-highest home court winning percentage in Division II basketball since 2010-11, going an impressive 154-11 (.933). The 154 home victories are the most among Division II programs in the last 10 years as the Railsplitters have posted three perfect seasons in Harrogate during that time.
 
About Coach Schertz
Since taking over the LMU basketball program, coach Schertz has amassed an astonishing 321-65 record over 13 seasons. Schertz' career winning percentage of .832 is the second-highest of any head coach in men's college basketball at any NCAA level (minimum 10 seasons). He also ranks second among active head coaches with at least 10 years at the helm – Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern (.841) – after passing Gonzaga head coach Mark Few (.829) in 2019-20. On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, coach Schertz reached his 300th career victory with a 76-64 conference home win over UVA Wise. Reaching the 300-win milestone in only 365 games as a head coach, the seven-time SAC Coach of the Year owns the second-most SAC victories with a phenomenal 202-36 (.849) league record.
 
About Catawba
Picked to finish fifth in the 13-team SAC after going 14-8 in conference play last year, Catawba no longer has the services of 2020 All-SAC First Team selection Devin Cooper or All-SAC honorable mention performer Marcell Haskett. The Indians went 20-10 overall in 2019-20 and finished third in the SAC race, earning the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament where they stumbled 104-95 against second-seeded and 25th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte. An NCAA Tournament team a year ago, Catawba was selected as the No. 6 seed for the Railsplitters' Division II Southeast Regional Championship in Harrogate before things were called off due to COVID-19. Led by seventh-year head coach Rob Perron, the Indians are off to a 1-2 start after losses to Wingate at home (103-84) on Nov. 28 and at Lenoir-Rhyne (93-86) this past Saturday. Catawba's lone victory of 2020-21 came in its season and SAC opener versus Anderson (90-78) on Nov. 21. The sixth-leading scorer in the 13-team league, 6-foot-4 junior guard Terrence Whitfield is averaging 20.3 points a game on 55.8 percent shooting. With four double-figure scorers, the Indians also feature 6-foot-6 junior guard Lloyd Hemming (13.0 PPG), 6-foot-3 junior guard Carter Phillips (12.7 PPG) and 6-foot-6 senior guard Ace Carter (12.5 PPG). Marcus Burwell, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, leads Catawba in assists (8.5 APG) and 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Ben Bowen is the team's top rebounder (7.0 RPG).
 
Looking Ahead
LMU will close out the calendar year with one more non-conference home game this weekend. Following Christmas break, the Railsplitters welcome Tusculum University, who is currently receiving votes in the national coaches poll, to Tex Turner Arena the day after New Year's for a 4 p.m. SAC tilt on Jan. 2. Further updates to LMU's 2020-21 schedule will be announced later.
 
LMU L Club
Register to become an L Club member today. 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.  
 
Stay Up to Date
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 2020-21 season.