Harrogate, TN - Fresh off of a decisive conference victory over rival Carson-Newman at home on Wednesday, the Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team will travel to Coker for an in-conference Saturday showdown. The Railsplitters are seeking to extend their current winning streak to three games, while the Cobras are seeking to avoid a four game skid, most recently falling to Catawba 92-89 on Jan. 3.

On the season, the Cobras have found success on offense. However, they have also struggled defensively. Coker is the highest scoring team in the South Atlantic Conference, averaging 97.1 points-per-game. However, the Cobras are also allowing 99.3 points-per-game on the season, also making them the worst defensive team in the conference statistically. Lincoln Memorial rests in the middle of the SAC in scoring with 81 points-per-game. However, the Railsplitters are the third best team in the conference statistically on defense, holding opponents to just 74.6 points-per-game. In its last game, Lincoln Memorial limited Carson-Newman, the conference's second highest scoring team at the time of the contest, to a season low 64 points while limiting the conference's leading scorer, John Zhao, to just 11 points in the game.

Coker is led in scoring by Andre Leavell, who is now the SAC's leading scorer following Lincoln Memorial's defensive effort against Carson-Newman. Leavell is currently averaging 20.1 points-per-game with 4.8 rebounds-per-game. He is followed in scoring by Mahmoud Bangura, who averages 18.8 points-per-game, which is good for third in the conference. Bangura is also the team's leading rebounder, hauling in an average of 7.8 boards-per-game. Demar Anderson, Hayden Abdullah, and Tate Mulkey are the three other Cobras averaging double figure scoring with 10.8, 10.6, and 10.2 points-per-game respectively.

Lincoln Memorial is led in scoring by Me'Kell Burries with 15.8 points-per-game on the season, with a 48% mark from long range. He is followed by Chase Rankin and Martez Brown who each average 12.4 points-per-game. Rankin also averages 4.5 rebounds-per-game and is the team's second leading rebounder, while handing out an average of 5.2 assists-per-game. Brown leads the team in rebounding, and is the only player in the conference to average a double-double, hauling in an incredible 13.6 rebounds-per-game. His 69.9% field goal percentage is good for fourth in the nation. Brown's NCAA-leading 177 rebounds on the season eclipse the nation's second leading rebounder by a wide margin of 20 rebounds, making him easily the best rebounder in the nation. Brown is first in the country in defensive rebounds, and ninth in the country in offensive rebounds. He leads the nation in rebounds per game, and is sixth in double-doubles with seven on the season. Freshman Wes Enis has played in two games for Lincoln Memorial thus far, scoring 19 points and 15 points respectively for an average of 17 points-per-game. Matthew Sells is averaging 9.7 points-per-game, hovering right on double figures, connecting on 36% of his shots from beyond the arc.

Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Coker is slated for 4:00 PM on Saturday and can be found streaming on FloSports at: https://flosports.link/3rX5Nxo.
Live stats will begin at game tip and can be found at: https://coker.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240106_i2yf.xml