Men's Basketball Picked Eleventh In Preseason Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Lincoln Memorial has been picked to win the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Championship as voted by the League's head coaches. The Railsplitters picked up 11 top votes and received 121 points from the panel.

Lincoln Memorial, the 2016 NCAA Division II Runner-Up, posted an overall record of 34-3 and a 22-0 record in South Atlantic Conference play last season.  The Railsplitters became the first team in South Atlantic Conference history to finish the season at 22-0 in route to winning the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships.  Lincoln Memorial comes into the 2016-17 campaign ranked No. 2 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Wingate and Queens tied for No. 2 in the 2016-17 SAC Preseason Poll with 100 points.

The Bulldogs, who earned one top vote from the panel, advanced the second round of the 2016 NCAA Division II Basketball Championship after finishing the 2015-16 regular season at 23-10 overall and 16-6 in League play.  The Bulldogs made a run in the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Basketball Tournament and finished as the Tournament Runner-Up.

Queens turned in an overall record of 25-7 a season ago to go along with a 17-5 record in SAC play.  The Royals knocked off Columbus State in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Division II Basketball Championship to earn a trip to the round of 32.

At No. 4 in the poll was Carson-Newman who picked up 85 points from the head coaches.  The Eagles went 16-13 overall and 12-10 in the South Atlantic Conference last season.  Catawba followed as it received 82 points, landing in the No. 5 position.  The Catawba Indians closed out their 2015-16 season at 12-17 overall and 10-12 in the SAC.

Newberry earned the No. 6 position with 74 points.  The Wolves were 18-12 overall and 12-10 in the SAC a season ago. Lenoir-Rhyne came in at No. 7 with 61 points.  The Bears advanced to the 2016 NCAA Division II Regional Finals after posting a 21-10 overall record as well as a 14-8 mark in the Conference.  Tusculum landed at No. 8 in the preseason poll as it collected 54 points from the panel.  Last season, the Pioneers went 14-15 overall and 9-13 in the South Atlantic Conference

Anderson came in at No. 9 with 50 points, followed by Coker with 31 points and Mars Hill who picked up 23 points. Brevard rounded out the poll as it notched 11 points.

The South Atlantic Conference also announced its Preseason All-Conference Teams with Division II Bulletin Preseason All-Americans Luquon Choice of Lincoln Memorial and Charles Clark from Carson-Newman headlining the first team

Choice canned a South Atlantic Conference single-season record 125 three-pointers during the 2015-16 season.  He connected on 47.5 percent from beyond the arc and finished the season with 16.7 points per outing.

Clark ranked No. 2 in the South Atlantic Conference with 21.6 points per game.  He also ranked No. 3 in the League with 57 steals.

Isiah Cureton from Wingate, Sawyer Williams of Carson-Newman, Catawba's Jameel Taylor and Mike Baez of Wingate rounded out the list of Preseason All-SAC First Team Honorees.  Cureton put in 14.4 points per game last season, while Williams averaged 16.5 ppg. Taylor topped the Catawba roster with 17.3 points an outing and Baez finished the 2015-16 season with 13.3 points per outing.

Earning second-team honors were Catawba's K.J Arrington, Daniel Camps of Queens, Anderson's Randall Shaw, Donte Samuels from Coker, Queen's Todd Withers and Keith Griffin from Wingate.

The 2016-17 Men's Basketball season gets underway on Friday Nov. 11.

Men's Preseason Poll (First-Place Votes)    Points

1.       Lincoln Memorial (11)                               121

2.     Wingate (1)                                                   100

        Queens                                                           100

4.     Carson-Newman                                         85

5.     Catawba                                                       82

6.     Newberry                                                       74

7.     Lenoir-Rhyne                                               61

8.     Tusculum                                                      54

9.     Anderson                                                       50

10.  Coker                                                             31

11.  Mars Hill                                                       23

12.  Brevard                                                         11          

First Team

Isiah Cureton, Wingate

Sawyer Williams, Carson-Newman

Luquon Choice, Lincoln Memorial

Mike Baez, Wingate

Charles Clark, Carson-Newman

Jameel Taylor, Catawba

Second Team

Randall Shaw, Anderson

KJ Arrington, Catawba

Daniel Camps, Queens

Donte Samuels, Coker

Todd Withers, Queens

Keith Griffin, Wingate