C-N looks to rebound versus resurgent Wolves
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-7, 10-6 South Atlantic Conference) will look to bounce back from its largest loss of the season and salvage a season-split with Newberry (9-8, 9-6 SAC) with a 4 p.m. tip Saturday in Holt Fieldhouse.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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27 | 20 | 47 |
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23 | 32 | 55 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-7, 10-6 South Atlantic Conference) will look to bounce back from its largest loss of the season and salvage a season-split with Newberry (9-8, 9-6 SAC) with a 4 p.m. tip Saturday in Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman is coming in off a 73-56 loss to No. 16 Lincoln Memorial, while Newberry saw a four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday by No. 18 Queens 76-61.
"Our biggest need coming into this game is rest," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "After three straight on the road and five of the last six away from Holt we needed to mend a bit."
After an 0-5 start to the season, Newberry has won seven of its last 10 games, tied for the third-best record in the league over the last 10 contests.
Newberry won the first meeting 55-51 in early December in Eleazer Arena.
Newberry is going for a fifth straight win in the series with Carson-Newman something that the Wolves have never accomplished in the 62 previous meetings.
The 106 combined points in the first meeting this year, a 55-51 Newberry win, are the lowest for a Carson-Newman game since Chuck Benson's second game as head coach in 2010 when the Eagles and Georgia College combined for 90 in a 60-30 win for the Bobcats.
The loss was just the second for Carson-Newman in the last decade when limiting its opponent to 60 points or less. Catawba beat Carson-Newman 60-58 in overtime on Feb. 27, 2013 – the last team to win such a defensive rock fight over C-N.
Carson-Newman scored 19 points after halftime, its worst scoring half since being held to 19 at Coker to start last season.
The 15-point lead that Newberry erased is the largest deficit a Carson-Newman opponent has overcome this season.
Carson-Newman and Newberry have the two top scoring defenses in the South Atlantic Conference. Carson-Newman allows a league-low 67.4 points per game, while Newberry gives up 68.9 a night. LMU has been the only team this semester to crack 80 on the Wolves, while Newberry has held seven of their last 10 foes below 70. Carson-Newman has held every team it's played this semester below its scoring average with the exception of Wingate.
Bryant Thomas comes into the contest with 108 career blocks. He is second all-time. Andy Tipton holds the school record (2004-09) with 109 career rejections - Thomas is one rejection away from tying the career mark and two from breaking it.
Thomas is once again among the best in the nation at rejecting shots. He is 8th nationally with 41 blocks and 17th in the country with 2.16 re-directs per game. Thomas is the league leader in both categories.
Carson-Newman has the country's 14th best shot-blocking team with 80 total rejections. The Eagles lead the league for the category.
Tripp Davis is fifth in the country in total steals with 50 and seventh in steals per game with 2.78. Davis is three steals away from cracking the top 15 for steals in a single season (his own mark of 53 from last year). Davis has 141 steals for his career, He moved past Braun Dabbs with a six-steal day against Wingate and now has sole possession of sixth on the career steal chart. He needs seven more to catch Andrew Johnson (2005-09) for fifth and his 148 steals.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Wolves is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Newberry | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (18-59) | (19-49) |
| Field Goal % | 30.5% | 38.8% |
| Rebounds | 32 | 37 |
| Assists | 11 | 12 |
| Turnovers | 13 | 14 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 15 | 6 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 16 | 10 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 22 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 17 | 20 |
