Eagles welcome old VSAC rival Tennessee Wesleyan back to Mossy Creek
December 12, 2014

Eagles welcome old VSAC rival Tennessee Wesleyan back to Mossy Creek

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-6, 2-3 South Atlantic Conference) will go back to its Volunteer State Athletic Conference roots when it welcomes Tennessee Wesleyan (5-5, 3-4 Appalachian Athletic Conference) to Holt Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday.

C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-6, 2-3 South Atlantic Conference) will go back to its Volunteer State Athletic Conference roots when it welcomes Tennessee Wesleyan (5-5, 3-4 Appalachian Athletic Conference) to Holt Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday.

The Eagles and Bulldogs will get together for the 86th time in a series that saw the teams meet at least twice every year from 1968-1991.  The teams have met just three times since the Eagles first season in the South Atlantic Conference. 

Carson-Newman dropped a 78-69 decision to TWC in 1998.  The Eagles picked up a win in 1999 78-71. 

The programs' last meeting was in 2010 during Jared Johnson's (Springfield, Mass.) freshman season.  The now senior guard had no points, two rebounds and three turnovers in six minutes on the floor as the Eagles picked up a 75-60 win behind 18 points from Ish Sanders.

Now Johnson leads the Eagles with 16.2 points per game and is coming off a career-best five-three-point-field-goal game in the Eagles' 14-point comeback win over Lenoir-Rhyne.

Over the last five games, Carson-Newman has worked mightily to correct its turnover troubles from the start of the season. Carson-Newman is averaging just 12.0 turnovers per game its last five times on the floor, compared to a whopping 19.75 over its first four contests.

The Eagles' newfound ball security will be put to the test by the Bulldogs. Tennessee Wesleyan utilizes an up-tempo style that forces 9.3 steals a game and 17.8 opponent turnovers. 

The Bulldogs come into the matchup averaging 81.8 points per game.  They feature seven players who average at least seven points per game.  Devante Jenkins and Stephen Kite lead the way with 14.8 and 14.4 per game, respectively.

Carson-Newman is going for its 13th consecutive victory over a non-Division II foe (excluding exhibitions against Division I competition). The Eagles haven't lost to a team from outside their home division since falling 69-56 to Maryville (Division III) on Dec. 2, 2009.

Tipoff Saturday is set for 2 p.m. Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 p.m. with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.

-CN-

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