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The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team plays Erskine on Monday at 4 p.m. at Tex Turner Arena in its final game before Christmas break. The Railsplitters are 4-1 all-time against the Flying Fleet, having won 89-64 over Erskine last season on Dec. 1 in Harrogate.
 
Lincoln Memorial (11-1, 4-0 SAC) needed a second half comeback to take down Limestone 88-79 on Saturday. The Railsplitters were sparked by Me'Kell Burries' 27 points to rally back from a 42-36 halftime deficit and a 55-46 hole with 15 minutes to play. Erskine, playing in the Conference Carolinas, enters the game with an 0-11 overall record (0-5 CC), having lost to common opponents North Georgia 76-58 on Nov. 12 and at King 92-88 in overtime on Nov. 22 in Bristol, Tenn.
 
Lincoln Memorial comes in at No. 8 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the D2SIDA Poll released on Dec. 13, which are the highest rankings for teams with a loss.
 
RAILSPLITTER STRIKES (through games played Dec. 15)

• Lincoln Memorial leads the SAC in assists per game (20.2, fifth in Division II), field goal percentage (53.4, second), rebounding margin (+10.9, fifth), scoring margin (+20.7, seventh) and scoring offense (91.3 points per game, sixth) so far this season.
• Chase Rankin ranks second in the conference and fifth in Division II in total assists at 67, while his 6.1 assists per game rank ninth nationally. The graduate guard's 2.48 assist-to-turnover ratio is fourth in the SAC.
• Martez Brown's 97 total rebounds leads the league and ranks No. 14 in the country.
• Matthew Sells has made 33 3-pointers this season, good for third in the conference and 12^th in Division II. The sophomore guard's 47.1 percent shooting from distance is also third in the conference while ranking No. 23 nationally.
• Along with being ranked No. 6 in the NABC Preseason Poll, the Railsplitters were picked to win the SAC with 143 points including 11 first place votes.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Me'Kell Burries, senior forward Jordan Guest and Rankin were all selected to the preseason All-SAC First Team.

SCOUTING ERSKINE: The Flying Fleet are the only winless team in the Conference Carolinas and one of only two teams without a league win so far this season. Erskine went 4-24 a season ago. The team ranks fifth in the conference in both blocks per game (3.1) and field goal percentage defense (44.7), while its 27.1 defensive rebounds a game rank third in the league.
 
Junior guard Jaylen Prioleau leads the Conference Carolinas in both total rebounds (98) and rebounds per game (9.8), ranking 11^th and 14^th in NCAA Division II in those categories, respectively.
 
SAC Men's Basketball Standings (as of Dec. 19)
 
Mountain Division                Overall           Conference
Lincoln Memorial                  11-1                 4-0
Carson-Newman                     9-2                   4-0
Tusculum                                5-4                   2-2
Emory & Henry                       7-4                   1-3
UVA Wise                               7-4                   1-3
Limestone                               3-7                   1-3
Mars Hill                                 2-7                   0-3
 
Piedmont Division                Overall           Conference
Catawba                                  7-4                   3-1
Wingate                                   6-4                   3-1
Coker                                      7-5                   2-2
Newberry                                7-4                   1-2
Lenoir-Rhyne                          5-4                   1-2
Anderson                                3-9                   1-2
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters host Lees-McCrae on New Year's Eve at 4 p.m. in the return from the break.