Davis looks at 1,000 as No. 22 Eagles open season with Carson-Newman Classic
November 14, 2013

Davis looks at 1,000 as No. 22 Eagles open season with Carson-Newman Classic

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (0-0) forward Antoine Davis (Rustburg, Va.) can join elite company Friday afternoon when the No. 22 Eagles open their season at 3:30 p.m. against the Barton Bulldogs. Davis needs seven points to join the 1,000-point club to become just the fifth player in the Division II era of the program to attain the milestone.

Carson-Newman Men's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (0-0) forward Antoine Davis (Rustburg, Va.) can join elite company Friday afternoon when the No. 22 Eagles open their season at 3:30 p.m. against the Barton Bulldogs.  Davis needs seven points to join the 1,000-point club to become just the fifth player in the Division II era of the program to attain the milestone.

Davis' teammate Ish Sanders (Cleveland, Tenn.) hit the 1,000-point mark last season and now sits in ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,382 points. 

"Anybody who's watched Antoine here knows that he's special," C-N head coach Chuck Benson said. "What people don't see is how high his character is.  He's one of my favorite players I've ever coached.  I hope he has a senior season befitting the person he is."

Barton (1-1) is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and is five years removed from a national championship.  The Bulldogs, however, must replace four starters from that team, including Southeast Region Player of the Year and All-American Gerald Boston, who averaged more than 20 points per game last season. 

Filling his void is Chris Flemmings – the only returning starter from last year's club.  Flemmings is averaging 16 points through two games for the Bulldogs.  He put in 20 points in a three-point loss to Elizabeth City State and 12 in a 70-59 win over Shaw.  Flemmings is the only Bulldog averaging double figures. 

Evan Shelton, Ryan Canoy, Khari Faison and Daniel McClendon all average more than six points a game.  Canoy is the Bulldogs leading rebounder, collecting eight caroms a contest. 

The meeting with the Bulldogs is the first in school history.  Carson-Newman will face Trevecca Nazarene for just the second time in game two of the Carson-Newman Classic Saturday at 5 p.m. 

The Eagles beat the Trojans during the 2002-03 season 119-85.  This edition of the Trojans club is 1-1 and comes to Holt Fieldhouse following a 104-78 loss to North Alabama.  The Trojans feature four double-digit scorers, led by Byron Sanford's 13 points per game.

Reigning SAC Coach of the Year Chuck Benson's Eagles are 22nd in the first iteration of the NABC poll.  C-N's appearance in the top 25 marks the Eagles' first national ranking in more than a decade.  That was back in 2002. 

Carson-Newman was coming off a loss to Shaw in the NCAA tournament and started the 2002-03 season ranked 11th. However, an 8-3 start to the season wasn't good enough to keep the Eagles in the top 25.  C-N fell out in the first week of January before getting booted out of the receiving votes category the following week.

The Eagles have spent six weeks total ranked in NABC polls. Carson-Newman finished 2001-02 ranked 18th, rising five spots from the previous week. One has to go back to the mid-1960s to find the final three Carson-Newman teams ranked in the top 25, or as was the case at that time, the top 10. Carson-Newman spent three weeks in the top 10 from January 7-21 in 1965.

Davis and Sanders are both preseason All-SAC selections and preseason DII Bulletin All-Americans.

C-N returns fellow starters Jared Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) and Carson  Brooks (Knoxville, Tenn.).  The Eagles have 70 percent of their scoring and 68 percent of their rebounding back from a year ago. 

The Eagles tip off with Barton at 3:30 p.m. Friday and at 5 p.m. Saturday with Trevecca Nazarene. Both games can be found on the Eagle Sports Network on 106.3 ESPN Radio The Zone (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live beginning with the Countdown to Tipoff 15 minutes prior to each contest's schedule start time. 

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