C-N aims for season sweep of Wise
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-5, 5-4 South Atlantic Conference) has changed course mid-stream and started prepping for a new foe for Wednesday night’s 7:30 tip in Holt Fieldhouse.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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29 | 32 | 61 |
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32 | 48 | 80 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-5, 5-4 South Atlantic Conference) has changed course mid-stream and started prepping for a new foe for Wednesday night's 7:30 tip in Holt Fieldhouse.
Originally, Carson-Newman was to square off with Coker for the first time, but CoVID positives within the Cobras program left them with too few players available to field a team.
In the Cobras staid, UVA Wise (1-12, 0-10 SAC) will make its return trip to Holt Fieldhouse a month early to complete the season series with the Eagles. Carson-Newman collected an 83-64 win over the Cavaliers on Dec. 8 at the Prior Convocation Center.
"Thankfully none of us are surprised at this point and we know what to expect both from our players, to our coaches to our support staff within the department," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We know how to function on a moment's notice. Thankfully, we played Wise a month ago. We have some familiarity with them and are thankful both their men and women were willing and ready to play. It's a quick turnaround, but still enough time to do a thorough job preparing for them."
UVA-Wise head coach Blake Mellinger should ring a bell to Carson-Newman fans. Mellinger is no stranger to teaching the game of basketball as his father and grandfather were both coaches, making him a third-generation coach in the Mellinger family. Blake's grandfather, Arnold, is the only men's basketball player to have his jersey retired at C-N. The elder Mellinger competed for the Eagles from 1954-57 and scored 1,826 career points, ranking seventh all-time in Carson-Newman history.
The Cavs finished last year's SAC slate with three wins and two losses in their final five games, but are still looking for their first league win this year.
UVA Wise has lost 10 consecutive South Atlantic Conference games, the fifth-longest active league losing streak in the country. The Cavs are tied for the mark with the Peach Belt's Clayton State Lakers.
The Eagles are aiming for a 16th straight win over the Cavs.
Luke Brenegan and Bryant Thomas have had high-level success against UVA Wise. Brenegan is averaging 18 points per game on 54 percent shooting over his last three contests with the Cavs. Meanwhile, Thomas has made 15 of his last 17 shots against UVA Wise.
Bryant Thomas comes into the contest with 93 career blocks, seven away from becoming Carson-Newman's second triple-digit block performer for a career. He is second all-time. Andy Tipton holds the school record (2004-09) with 109 career rejections - Thomas is 16 rejections away.
Thomas is once again among the best in the nation at rejecting shots. He is ninth nationally with 26 blocks and 23rd in the country with 2.00 re-directs per game. Thomas is the league leader in both categories. He also leads the league in rebounding and is 19th nationally with 113 caroms collected.
Carson-Newman has the country's 20th best shot-blocking team with 52 total rejections. The Eagles lead the league for the category.
Carson-Newman struggled from the field in the month of the December, The Eagles scored 5.5 fewer points per game in December than in November while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three. In November, the Eagles made 47.4 percent of their shots and 45.5 percent of their threes. That trend continued into the new year with a season-low 36.8 percent shooting effort against Erskine. It marked the first game Carson-Newman has won since Feb. 2015 (at Lenoir-Rhyne) when it has shot worse than 37 percent from the field.
"My New Year's resolution is to not harp on that we've struggled to make shots," Benson said. "We are getting good shots. As long as we continue to get good looks and good shots, they will find the confidence as we work our way through the new year."
Joel Pettiford is the SAC's leader in field goal percentage and ranks fourth nationally, making 69.1 percent of his shots. He was 7-for-10 from the field against C-N in the first meeting this year.
"Joel is highly efficient," Benson said. "We go in looking at this in a vanilla fashion and will look at how we defend him as the game progresses in real time."
Tip between the Eagles and Highland Cavaliers is set for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Virginia-Wise | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (21-59) | (31-56) |
| Field Goal % | 35.6% | 55.4% |
| Rebounds | 30 | 39 |
| Assists | 14 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 18 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 21 | 10 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 6 | 9 |
| Pts in the Paint | 22 | 40 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 9 | 20 |
| Bench Pts | 26 | 25 |
