GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's basketball team returns to action this week when the Pioneers make the short trip to Harrogate to face longtime rival Lincoln Memorial University this Saturday afternoon at Tex Turner Arena.
Saturday's game is a rescheduled contest from Nov. 28 when it was postponed due to a positive COVID case with the LMU program.
This weekend's game will be the first of two meetings this year between the Pioneers and the Railsplitters as the two will have a rematch on Feb. 17 in Greeneville.
Saturday's 2 p.m. tilt will be a battle of two programs who sit atop the South Atlantic Conference standings with undefeated records. Tusculum (3-0, 3-0 SAC) cracked the NABC Division II Top-25 for the first time since 2009 and are ranked 24th in the nation, while LMU (5-0, 3-0 SAC) is listed second in the country.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum will be seeing its first action on the hardwood since Dec. 6 with the Pioneers' 101-82 victory at UVA Wise. The Pioneers are off to its first 3-0 SAC start ever and its first 3-0 beginning in league play since the 1992-93 club achieved the feat as a member of the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference.
Head coach JT Burton has Tusculum off to its second consecutive 3-0 start in as many seasons as the Pioneers are second in the nation in scoring offense averaging 99 points per game including 105 ppg in their last two outings. TU is also second in the country in total rebounds per game (47.00 rpg), offensive rebounds per game (17.33 rpg) and are third nationally in rebound margin (+12.7). Tusculum is also leading the SAC in blocked shots per game (3.7 bpg – 19th in NCAA II) and are second in the conference in field goal percentage (.478 – 28th in NCAA II), assist/turnover ratio (1.22 – 24th in NCAA II), defensive rebounds per game (29.67 rpg – 10th in NCAA II), three-point field goals per game (10.0 – 17th in NCAA II) and scoring margin (+14.7 – 13th in NCAA II).
The Pioneers have had four games postponed due to the pandemic including Newberry (Dec. 5), Limestone (Dec. 9), Catawba (Dec. 9 – added after Limestone game was postponed) and Lenoir-Rhyne (Dec. 12). TU games against Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne were postponed when the Pioneers were listed as contacts with a COVID positive case with the UVA Wise team.
Leading the charge for the Black & Orange is junior guard Trenton Gibson. The 2020 All-SAC standout leads the team in scoring with 20.7 points per game (4th in SAC / 26th in NCAA II), rebounding with 7.7 boards per game (7th in SAC) and 4.7 assists per contest (4th in SAC / 32nd in NCAA II). He is also shooting 87.5 percent from the free throw line (5th in SAC / 38th in NCAA II). He leads the conference in total free throws made (35 – 5th in NCAA II) and free throws attempted (40 – 7th in NCAA II), in just three games played.
Transfer guard James West IV (Woodbridge, Va.) is second on the team in scoring with his 15.7 points per game average (14th in SAC). West, a graduate student from Mount St. Mary's, has emerged as TU's long-range threat averaging 3.33 three-point field goals made per game, which is second in the SAC and 22nd in the country. He led the Pioneers with his 18 markers in the win at UVA Wise.
Senior forward Brandon Mitchell is coming off his best outing of the season at UVA Wise. The Virginia Beach, Virginia product recorded his first double-double of the year and 10th of his career with 15 points and 12 rebounds against the Cavaliers. Mitchell is second on the team in rebounding averaging 7.3 boards per contest (8th in SAC) to go along with his 9.7 points per game average. He is TU's leader in blocked shots averaging 1.67 per contest, which are second in the league and 32nd in the country.
SCOUTING THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Lincoln Memorial is off to another sizzling start, picking up where they left off after sweeping the SAC regular-season and tournament titles from a year ago.
Including this year's 5-0 start, the Railsplitters are riding an amazing 37-game winning streak for head coach Josh Schertz, who is in his 13th season in Harrogate. LMU went 32-1 last season and was ready to make another NCAA Tournament run before the season was halted due to the pandemic.
This year's team has accounted for SAC wins over Newberry, Coker and most recently Catawba. Victories over nationally-ranked Alabama Huntsville and newcomer Campbellsville University Harrodsburg, LMU's most recent victim on Dec. 19 in a 109-62 dismantling.
Lincoln Memorial is the best shooting team in the country posting a .571 field goal percentage while limiting their opponents to just .387 shooting, which is sixth nationally. LMU is second in the country in scoring margin (+28.8) and lead the SAC in scoring defense (65.0 ppg – 7th in NCAA II), steals (10.0 spg – 5th in NCAA II), three-point percentage (.412 – 11th in NCAA II) and three-pointers made per game (12.2 – 5th in NCAA II).
Leading the Railsplitters so far this year is senior guard Devin Whitfield. Whitfield earned All-SAC first team honors and was the 2020 SAC Tournament MVP in his first LMU season. The Trevecca Nazarene transfer is averaging 20.5 points per game (5th in SAC / 28th in NCAA II) and is also the reigning SAC and TSWA Player of the Week. He leads the SAC with his .608 field goal percentage (24th in NCAA II) including .433 from three-point territory. He is averaging 3.25 treys per contest (3rd in SAC / 27th in NCAA II) including 4.33 three-pointers in his last three appearances where he is also posting 26 points per game. The 2020 NABC All-District choice scored 32 points in his last outing against Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.
Junior guard Cameron Henry is second on the team in scoring with his 13.2 points per game average. The 2020 SAC Defensive Player of the Year led LMU last season with eight double-doubles and was the conference leader with 71 steals (2.2 spg). This year, he is averaging 2.4 thefts per contest which are second on the team and sixth in the SAC.
Also scoring in double figures are juniors Jordan Guest (12.8 ppg) and Julius Brown (12.0 ppg). Guest is also LMU's top player on the glass pulling down 6.6 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 182nd recorded meeting between Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial in the longest running rivalry in Pioneer history. LMU leads the all-time series 137-44 and have won 27 of the last 28 meetings. In those 28 encounters. LMU has been nationally ranked in 24 of them. TU snapped a 24-game losing streak to the Railsplitters on Feb. 27, 2019, a 78-76 victory in Greeneville. Tusculum has lost in its last 18 road games to LMU. TU's last win over the Railsplitters at Turner Arena came on Dec. 3, 2005 (TU 61, LMU 59).
FOLLOW THE GAME
The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton describes all the action of Tusculum basketball on the Pioneer Sports Network, with pregame coverage starting 15 minutes before tip. Fans can listen locally on WSMG Radio at 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, and on-line at jewel955.com. Live video and live stats links for all games are available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.
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