C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman (16-6, 13-5 South Atlantic Conference) has won five consecutive games, but now the Eagles must  face the team that handed them their last loss - the Anderson Trojans (18-6, 13-5 SAC).

AU beat the Eagles in the final second at the Abney Athletic Center on a  Myson Jones 17-foot jumper. The Eagles lost in similar fashion on the road to Anderson last season, only to turn around and pull out a stunning 92-55 thumping at home of the then league-leading Trojans.

The stakes are equally high for this matchup. The teams are tied for second in the league with twin 13-5 records. They have a two-game lead on Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry, who are tied for fourth place in the league standings.

"You have to look at yourself and say what do we do differently from the last meeting to turn the tide in our favor," Carson-Newman head coach Chuck Benson said. "Do you do the same thing and just hope that things go your way when it was so close last time? Or do you try to make small adjustments?"  

Chandler Hash leads the Trojans with 24.1 points per game. That marks is the best in the SAC and fourth in the nation.  Hash is also second in the nation in made free throws with 181.  Hash has hit more than half as many free throws than Brevard has hit entirely as a team. 

"Chandler is arguably the best scorer in this conference, but he's not a one man team," Benson said. "But we know what our plan is and know what will be very deliberate in trying to stop; then maybe we have a way to disrupt their overall point production."

Has finished with 22 in the first meeting, but was three-for-10 from the charity stripe. 

Carson-Newman's Antoine Davis and Ish Sanders sit on  the verge of a couple milestones.  Davis needs 41 points to pass All-American Kyle Gribble for eighth on Carson-Newman's all-time scoring list and second among players in the Division II era. 

Meanwhile, Sanders needs 31 points to match Arnold Mellinger (1954-57) and his 1,826 career points for fifth on the all-time scoring list.  Mellinger is the only player in Carson-Newman men's basketball history to have his jersey retired. 

Sanders needs 18 points to move past Kyle Moore of Tusculum and into seventh place on the South Atlantic Conference's all-time scoring list. 

Chuck Benson is aiming for his 200^th career victory as a head coach.  He has 62 wins in his four seasons at Carson-Newman. 

Tipoff between the Eagles and Anderson is set for 8 p.m.  Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:45 p.m. with the Countdown to Tipoff on 106.3 ESPN Radio The Zone (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

-CN-