Three seed on the line on senior day for Eagles
March 2, 2013

Three seed on the line on senior day for Eagles

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With a first-round home game in the Food Lions South Atlantic Conference Tournament secure, Carson-Newman (19-6, 12-5 South Atlantic Conference) will jockey for seeding Saturday afternoon on senior day against Wingate (17-8, 13-4 SAC).

Carson-Newman Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With a first-round home game in the Food Lions South Atlantic Conference Tournament secure, Carson-Newman (19-6, 12-5 South Atlantic Conference) will jockey for seeding Saturday afternoon on senior day against Wingate (17-8, 13-4 SAC). 

A win over the Bulldogs would give Carson-Newman at least the three seed and a first round date with Newberry.  A win over Wingate and a loss by Anderson to Mars Hill and Carson-Newman will find itself in the two seed, with a rematch against Catawba in the opening round.  Should Carson-Newman falter on senior day, the Eagles would have the four seed and Lenoir-Rhyne as its first round opponent.

While Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said the Eagles met a goal when they secured a first-round home game, that tally mark hasn't satiated C-N's appetite. 

Benson said he knows the Eagles will have to be ultra-prepped for the Bulldogs.

"They are a tested team – as they should be for making the semifinals of the region last year," Benson said. "They'll come in here loaded for bear.  We have to put our game plan into play and bring the same effort and passion that (Wingate head coach) Brian Good's teams always do."

Carson-Newman took the first meeting with schools 63-52 by closing that game on an 11-2 run. 

The Eagles will honor Collin Crane (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Marcellous Perez (Jacksonville, N.C.) prior to the contest.  The two seniors are going out and style.  The Eagles 19-6 mark this year is the best over the players' careers.  The Eagles sit a win shy of their first 20-win season since 2002-2003.

However, to get to win 20, Benson said he knows the Eagles must put a two-point loss to Catawba behind them. 

"The guys have gotta see that we are resilient and ready to move forward.  We just buckle down and get ready for Wingate," Benson said. "If they see that we handle it a certain way, that'll give them the confidence to do the same."

Benson said it does help that LMU beat Wingate, essentially taking C-N out of the picture for a regular season conference title.

"That makes the medicine a little bit easier to take," Benson said. "But every year you look back and focus on games that haunt you.  The thrill of victory is so short-lived, those losses are hard to shake. But to know that LMU guaranteed themselves the top spot, it makes our loss a little easier to handle."

The Eagles and Bulldogs tip at 4 p.m. Saturday.  Coverage on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 p.m. with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff on 106.3 ESPN Radio The Zone (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com. 

-CN-

 
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