Chuck Benson By the Slice – Coker Preview

Carson-Newman Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since 1996-97, No. 16 Carson-Newman (3-0, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) will face its newest conference mate, the Coker Cobras (2-1, 0-1 SAC). That year, Coker snatched a 78-72 victory in the only meeting between the programs.

This year, Carson-Newman is out to a 3-0 start and leads the league in assist to turnover ratio.  The Eagles and Cobras are two of the five teams in the SAC which average more than 80 points per game. 

Coker owns victories over Belmont Abbey and Limestone, both of whom made the NCAA tournament a year ago.

"The truth of the matter is that they have two high quality wins," C-N head coach Chuck Benson said. "They've got a great group returning.  There's nothing flashy or shiny.  They keep it simple and do what they do very well.  Everyone I've talked to have said, 'Be careful. Coker's no joke.'"

Coker is led by reigning South Atlantic Conference player of the week Larry Felder. Felder is the league's leader in field goal percentage at 79.2 percent.  He averages 20.7 points off the bench.

Julian Nelson averaged more than 20 a game last year for a Cobra club that finished a game below .500.  This year, he's averaging 14 points per contest.  Nelson made the preseason All-SAC second team. 

"Nelson's got good size and can shoot and drive it," Benson said. "There's only one Antoine Davis, and we've got him.  But he's sort of like Antoine in that he's a big guy with good perimeter skills who's very versatile."

Carson-Newman, as it has been led for the last three years, is led by Antoine Davis (Rustburg, Va.) and Ish Sanders (Cleveland, Tenn.).  The duo provides for the highest scoring combo in the league at more than 37 points per game. 

However, they'll have to contend with a Coker club that returns seven seniors from a year ago.

"They've got a good balance inside out," Benson said. "Their bigs move well and are bouncy.  They've got some kids who move well around the basket, but hopefully we can continue to clog the lane with our zone."

The Eagles and Cobras are scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday for C-N's first road game of the season.  Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is set for 3:45 p.m. on 106.3 ESPN Radio the Zone (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

-CN-