Harrogate, TN - The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team enters the 2025 calendar year ranked inside the top 10 nationally. The Railsplitters' first test of 2025 will take place in Hickory, NC on Saturday against a top 25 team in the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears. The Railsplitters currently sit atop the South Atlantic Conference standings with an unblemished 7-0 record in conference play, bolstering a 9-1 record overall. The Bears are ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2019 and have earned a record of 10-2, with a 7-1 record in conference play, tying for second in the conference with Coker.

Sophomore Wes Enis leads Lincoln Memorial in scoring, averaging 19.2 points-per-game, good for third in the conference. He is also fifth in the conference in three point percentage, shooting a 46% clip from long range. Freshman Elyjah Freeman has made his presence felt throughout the conference throughout the season thus far as well, ranking fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.8 RPG) and fifth in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 67.6% from the floor.

Lincoln Memorial's offense features nearly five players averaging double figures per game. As previously mentioned, Enis leads the team in scoring with 19.2 points-per-game. He is followed by Freeman with 15.8 points-per-game and 7.8 rebounds-per-game. Freshman EJ Smith is averaging 12 points-per-game and 3.2 assists-per-game. Jordan Walters is averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds-per-game. Osmar Garcia-Araujo is right on the cusp of averaging double figures with 9.6 points-per-game.

The Railsplitters are averaging 83.6 points-per-game while holding their opposition to an average of 73.0 points-per-game, good for an average 10.6 point margin of victory. Lincoln Memorial will be tasked with stopping Lenoir-Rhyne's potent offense that sees the Bears average 90.5 points-per-game. However, Lenoir-Rhyne is giving up an average of 80.3 points-per-game as well. Three Bears average double figures, with another three on the cusp. Ziare Wells leads Lenoir-Rhyne in scoring with 18.8 points-per-game. He is followed by Hantz Louis-Jeune with 15.3 points-per-game and Conrad Luczynski with 12.5 points-per-game. Tay Smith (9.8 points-per-game), Julian Dozier (9.7 points-per-game), and Sam Martin (9.2 points-per-game) are the three players on the cusp of double figures for the Bears.

Tip-off between Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne is slated for 4:00 PM in Hickory, NC on Saturday.

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