Storylines – vs Lincoln Memorial University
The No. 2 Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial enter into Wednesday night's matchup on a 23-game win streak, the second-longest winning streak in South Atlantic Conference history. In his 12th season with the team, head coach Josh Schertz squad now holds a 23-1 overall record and are undefeated at 16-0 in conference play. This season, LMU's 93.6 points per game rank first in the league and fifth in NCAA Division II as the Railsplitters are outscoring opponents by a +23.4 margin (second in NCAA DII) while shooting a league-best 52.3 percent from the field (fourth in NCAA DII). The team leads the conference with 19.4 assists per game (seventh in NCAA DII) and ranked second in the SAC in steals per game (8.0) and fourth in rebounds per game (40.0). Sophomore Courvoisier McCauley sits atop the scoring category in the conference with his 20.6 points per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the field. Three more Railsplitter men are averaging double-digit points so far this season in redshirt junior Devin Whitfield (17.9 ppg), redshirt sophomore Cameron Henry (13.7 ppg), and senior Anthony Brown (12.9 ppg). The Railsplitters defense has held opponents to shooting just 37.9 percent from the floor (first in the SAC and NCAA DII) while also ranking first in the league in three-point percentage defense, with opponents shooting 29.3 percent from behind the arc. LMU will return home for a matchup Saturday against Newberry at 4 p.m. before taking on Mars Hill next Wednesday on the road with tip slated for 7:30 p.m.
About UVA Wise
The Cavaliers fell to 5-17 on the season, 1-15 in South Atlantic Conference play this past week with a pair of losses last week against Tusculum, 78-68, and at Newberry, 78-73. In the loss against the Wolves, redshirt sophomore
Briggs Parris poured in a game-high 25 points as the 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore connected on seven shots from behind the arc while going 9-for-19 from the field. Sophomore
Cameron Whiteside, senior
Eric Okenchi, and senior
Chance Sheffey each added 12 points. As a team, UVA Wise ranks fifth in the league in free throw percentage (73.9 percent) and fourth in the the SAC in assists (15.1 per game) while the Cavs defense is holding opponents to shooting just 31.5 percent from three-point range (third in the SAC). Whiteside continues to have a dominating season, ranking fourth in the league in scoring (19.6 points per game) and field goals per game (7.0). Among individual league leaders, the 6-foot-4 sophomore sits at seventh in rebounds per game (7.0), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (5.0), and second in steals per game (2.1). Parris finds himself back in the top-10 in the conference with his 42.1 three-point field goal percentage and ranks third in the league averaging 3.3 three-point field goals per game. Sheffey claims a team-high five assists per game (third in the SAC) while he and Whiteside are tied for fourth in the league in minutes per game (33.7). Head coach Blake Mellinger's team will return to action with a pair of road games at Queens (NC) Saturday at 4 p.m. and Lenoir-Rhyne next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
