C-N welcomes back 2015 SAC tournament title team for reunion against Wingate
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-6, 8-5 South Atlantic Conference) will welcome Wingate (6-7, 4-6 SAC) to Holt Fieldhouse for the first time in nearly five years, as well as the 2015 SAC tournament title team for a reunion at 4 p.m. Saturday.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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38 | 49 | 87 |
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42 | 31 | 73 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-6, 8-5 South Atlantic Conference) will welcome Wingate (6-7, 4-6 SAC) to Holt Fieldhouse for the first time in nearly five years, as well as the 2015 SAC tournament title team for a reunion at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Carson-Newman will recognize the 10-year reunion of that trophy-lifting team with a ceremony.
Wingate hasn't played in Holt Fieldhouse since a 77-68 win for the Eagles on Nov. 27, 2021. This breaks up four straight games that C-N has played the Bulldogs in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won the last meeting in the series, but C-N has taken seven of the last 10 contests.
The Bulldogs are led by the SAC's leading scorer Kendall Taylor. He averages 21.7 points per game and is one of four players in NCAA Division II who has turned in a triple-double this season, doing so against Mount Olive on New Year's Eve.
Jack Browder was stellar offensively over Carson-Newman's nine-game stretch from Nov. 30 through Jan 11. The junior forward averaged 25.0 points per game while shooting 62.0 percent from the field, 56.0 (28-for-50) percent from three and 95.55 percent from the line. He has made 43 of his last 45 free thrws. He scored 20 or more points in six of C-N's nine games. He also averaged eight rebounds per game in that stretch. Browder didn't score below 18 points in the stretch before the streak was snapped with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double against UVA Wise on Jan. 15. He had a career-best 36 points and 16 rebounds in the Eagles loss at UVA Wise on Dec. 4. Because of his performance during the stretch, he earned SAC Player of the Week honors and was also named National Player of the Week. Browder is the fourth Eagle all-time to be named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List for the top small college basketball player in America.
John Zhao is the ninth member of Carson-Newman's 200-three club. Nick Brenegan joined the club earlier this season. Brenegan has 241 career threes, 18 away from Malik Abraham and Charles Clark, who are tied for second with 259 career triples. With 212 career threes, Zhao needs one more to catch sixth-place Antoine Davis. The top five remains nine threes away and is occupied by assistant coach Luke Brenegan's 212 threes.
Zhao, Brenegan and Jack Browder are see-sawing around the all-time leading scoring list. Zhao has 1,213 career points Brenegan 1,162 and Browder 1,118. Zhao is oficially in the top 30 all-time in school history in scoring. He needs 35 more points to catch Carson Brooks for 29th (1,248 points). Brenegan is 35 back of Jim Shuler in 31st with 1,197. Finally, Browder has moved past assistant coach Luke Brenegan and is 34th all-time in scoring. His next point will move him past Skip Wyatt (1,118) and 12 more will draw him even with 33rd and Braun Dabbs (1,130).
Carson-Newman led the nation last season in three-point percentage. After going 14-of-26 from deep against Newberry, C-N has once more taken over the top spot in the country. The Eagles have been exceptionally strong from beyond the arc in the New Year. Carson-Newman has connected on 53.4 percent of its threes in four January games. C-N is averaging 13.75 makes per game from beyond the arc. With the exception of an 8-for-23 day from deep against LMU, C-N has connected on at minimum 14 threes a game in 2025, including a school-record 19 for a road game at Coker.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville). As of press time, Carson-Newman's campus is still mired in an extensive network outage. Should that outage run to Saturday, there
Team Stats
Wingate
| Game Statistics | Wingate | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (34-74) | (26-59) |
| Field Goal % | 45.9% | 44.1% |
| Rebounds | 38 | 36 |
| Assists | 29 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 16 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 23 | 2 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 19 | 8 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 42 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 9 | 10 |
| Bench Pts | 12 | 5 |
