HARROGATE, Tenn. – Coming off one of its best shooting performances in program history, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team is set to close out 2020 Saturday afternoon inside B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena. The second-ranked Railsplitters (4-0) will step out of South Atlantic Conference play and host National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Campbellsville University Harrodsburg at 2 p.m. in Harrogate.
 
Going for its 37th-straight victory, LMU will be looking to complete its first undefeated calendar year in program history.
 
How to Follow
Saturday afternoon's matchup will be streamed live via SAC Live on Stretch Internet with the voice of the Railsplitters, Rusty Peace, providing play-by-play of the game. Live statistics of the contest can be followed by visiting LMURailsplitters.com. As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Presented by Food City, Saturday's tilt is the second and final non-conference game for the Railsplitters this season. Due to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the SAC chose to allot just two non-conference games per member institution. LMU will return to its 20-game league slate in the new year.
 
Limited Attendance
Due to the ongoing public health crisis of the COVID-19 global pandemic, LMU Athletics has a revised attendance policy for home basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Tex Turner Arena will have a limited capacity of 10% in an effort of promoting and prioritizing the health and safety of student-athletes and game day personnel. The following groups of individuals are the only permitted attendees for home LMU athletic events held inside Tex Turner Arena: student-athlete pass list designees, L Club members, 50 students, dignitaries and game day personnel. In line with LMU's COVID-19 policies and protocols, specific guidelines have been outlined to keep the health and safety of the LMU community the athletic department's top priority. For LMU Athletics' complete COVID-19 game day policies, please click here.
 
Near the Top
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 this past Tuesday. 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, nine 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.
 
Catching Fire at Catawba
Facing their second road test of 2020-21 Wednesday afternoon in Salisbury, North Carolina, the Railsplitters had no trouble with Catawba as they torched the nets for the seventh-highest field goal percentage mark in program history. Shooting 65.5 percent from the field, LMU knocked down a season-high 18 three pointers and had six players score in double figures en route to a 109-76 win. Reaching the century mark for the first time of the season, the Railsplitters' offense erupted as LMU got quality shooting from its entire lineup and scored 39 points off the bench. For the second consecutive outing the Railsplitters racked up over 25 assists, assisting on 26 of its 38 made baskets. Overcoming a sluggish start, LMU pulled away from the host Indians in the second part of the opening half by going on an impressive 30-6 run over the final 10-and-a-half minutes. The Railsplitters scored 59 points in the second half and shot 67.9 percent from the floor with 11-for-18 three-point shooting. Redshirt senior guard Devin Whitfield led the way with 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting, while reigning SAC Player of the Week Jordan Guest went 4-for-6 from deep and finished with 18 points. Senior guard Alex Dahling tallied 11 points and was 3-for-6 from outside as both redshirt junior guard Cameron Henry and junior guard Julius Brown contributed 10 points apiece. Several career highs were set with sophomore combo guard Jeremiah Keene reaching a career-high 13 points and a career-best five assists. LMU redshirt senior forward Shaquille Rombley had his best game donning the Blue and Gray thus far, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and notching a season-high nine points. Redshirt sophomore Xavier Bledson dished out a game and career-best seven assists in only 17 minutes on court.
 
Railsplitters from Distance
Over their last two contests, the Railsplitters have been spectacular from beyond the arc. In its dominant 93-68 win over 11th-ranked The University of Alabama in Huntsville last Sunday, LMU went 16-for-40 (40 percent) from long range before improving to 18-for-33 (54.5 percent) at Catawba Wednesday. The Railsplitters are shooting at a remarkable 46.6 percent (34-of-73) clip from three-point range over their last 80 minutes of play.
 
Whitfield Rising
After missing the season opener and playing a limited role at Coker in his first game of 2020-21, Whitfield has been outstanding. The 6-foot-5 guard and Lipscomb, Alabama (McAdory HS), native has recorded back-to-back 20-point games behind 57 percent (16-of-28) shooting. He's gone 9-for-20 (45 percent) from three-point distance and 5-for-6 at the free-throw over LMU's last two triumphs while also dishing out six assists.
 
Staying Hot
Coming off their best season in terms of winning percentage (.970), the Railsplitters pushed their longest win streak in program history to 36 Wednesday against the Indians. The 36-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 25-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 652 days and 413 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 features two of the top returning players in all of Division II basketball. Whitfield has scored 1,591 points in his collegiate career and currently leads the Railsplitters in scoring (16.7 PPG), while Henry led the conference in steals (71) and was second in rebounding (8.0 RPG) in 2019-20. Henry leads LMU in assists (5.5 APG) this season and is second in both scoring (15.5 PPG) and rebounding (5.0 RPG).
 
Versus the Pioneers
Saturday will be the first ever meeting between the Railsplitters and third-year program CU Harrodsburg.
 
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 322-65 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 203-36 (.849) league record.
 
About Campbellsville University Harrodsburg
Neither a NCAA nor NAIA member, the Pioneers compete in the NCCAA (Division II) and are a part of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). CU Harrodsburg, a new four-year college residential experience complete with athletics, started in 2016 as a branch of NAIA member Campbellsville University and is located in the heard of Mercer County in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The Pioneers began offering athletics in 2018. Off to a 1-2 start in 2020-21, CU Harrodsburg has played several exhibition contests against NAIA and NCAA-level competition. The Pioneers have not played a countable game since a 79-58 loss at Rio Grande on Nov. 21. Since, CU Harrodsburg has dropped road exhibitions at fellow Division II Kentucky Wesleyan (81-64), NAIA Pikeville (105-49), Division I VMI (106-72) and Division I Eastern Kentucky (118-54). Saturday afternoon's game will be the Pioneers' fourth of the week after playing at Pikeville Monday, VMI Tuesday and EKU Thursday. All but three student-athletes on CU Harrodsburg's 16-man roster hail from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
 
Looking Ahead
The Railsplitters will have a two-week break from play for Christmas, returning to game action the day after New Year's on Saturday, Jan. 2 when LMU hosts Tusculum inside Tex Turner Arena. On Wednesday, Jan. 6, the Railsplitters welcome Anderson to Harrogate before taking on Lenoir-Rhyne (Jan. 9) and first-year SAC member Limestone (Jan. 13) on the road.
 
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.