VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (15-12, 11-10 South Atlantic Conference) hits the pavement for its longest road trip of the year – a 306.3-mile jaunt – to Hartsville, S.C. for the Eagles' regular season finale at Coker (9-16, 5-16 SAC).

Tipoff Saturday is set for 4 p.m. from the DeLoach Center.  Both team's postseason fates are already secure.  Coker has been eliminated from contention from a spot in the South Atlantic Conference tournament, which begins Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Carson-Newman is presently in line for the six seed and a first-round matchup at Wingate.  The Eagles need a win or Lincoln Memorial to finish the season unbeaten in SAC play with a win over seventh-place Catawba Saturday to get the six seed.  Wingate has locked down the three seed.  

"It's clarity and we know exactly what's going on," head coach Chuck Benson said. "It doesn't change anything about our processes.  We know were there and we'll have to go on the road.  Based on what we saw last game, I think we're coming back around and are ready to put some good performances together."

Carson-Newman could potentially move up into a tie for fifth with Newberry, but the Wolves own any tiebreakers over Carson-Newman by virtue of Newberry's win over Wingate, who swept the Eagles in the regular season.  

The Eagles are coming off a 102-55 triumph over Brevard, which snapped C-N's three-game losing streak.  The Eagles' 47-point margin of victory is the Eagles' 15th largest win all-time, the biggest of the Chuck Benson era and the first gap of that margin since a 1988 win over Tusculum 138-89. Secondly, the 47-point win is the second largest win in the South Atlantic Conference this season only to Lincoln Memorials' 49-point win over Coker. Carson-Newman outrebounded Brevard by 32 - the Eagle's biggest rebounding margin this century.

The win was the eighth largest margin of victory this season in NCAA Division II by one team over a conference foe.

The Cobras have had their way with the Eagles in the series, especially defensively. In Coker's four wins over C-N since joining the league in 2013, the Cobras have forced 20 turnovers on two occasions and kept the Eagles to 40 percent shooting or worse twice.

Carson-Newman's 15-point win earlier this season was the Eagles' largest margin of victory in the series' brief history. C-N has never swept a season series from Coker and has never won three straight games against the Cobras.

Coker has struggled to score the ball at times this season. The Cobras are third from the bottom in the country in field goal percentage. Coker averages 38.3 percent from the field this year. Coker has been able to balance that out somewhat by being the country's 12th best offensive rebounding team. The Cobras collect 14 offensive rebounds per game.

Coker doesn't have a game this season where its shot better than 50 percent from the field. The Cobras have gone on the plus side of 45 percent on six occasions. The Cobras are 6-0 in those games.

"They haven't had the season that they'd probably like to have in terms of wins and losses," Benson said. "They're always prepared and they're typically good at home.  They've struggled offensively, so we'll have to keep them down."

The Cobras are led by the dean of SAC coaches Dan Schmotzer. In addition to being Coker's legendary 29th-year head coach, Schmotzer has an affinity for the links. Schmotzer is an avid golfer and enjoys the sport during the off-season. During the summer of 1996, Schmotzer got to play a round of golf with professional golfer Johnny Miller and jazz musician Kenny G.

Coker's leading scorer is Donte' Samuels. The forward leads the team with 15.5 points per game. He has scored double digits in all games he has appeared this season with the exception of four, one of which was at Carson-Newman. The Eagles held him to 4-of-12 shooting and nine points.

Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) continues to lead Carson-Newman.  The sophomore All-America candidate is coming into the contest off his 18^th, 20-point effort of  the season.  Clark scored 28 against Coker in the first meeting this season.  Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) joined him with 27 points in that game back on Jan. 16.

Tipoff between the Eagles and Cobras is set for 4 p.m.  Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.