JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 18 Carson-Newman (15-3, 7-3 South Atlantic Conference) will look to rebound from its worst home loss in school history when it welcomes Newberry (9-8, 4-6 SAC) to Holt Fieldhouse for a 4 p.m. tip Saturday.
Carson-Newman saw its 15-game home winning streak snapped in emphatic fashion Wednesday night against No. 3 Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters rolled up a 108-69 win over the Eagles. The 39-point margin of victory is the largest Carson-Newman has given up inside Holt Fieldhouse and the fifth worst in school history.
"We have to live in the moment and dominate that moment," head coach Chuck Benson said. "We've locked in and reflected on what happened with LMU. However, we've been locked in and focused on Newberry and their unusual style. We know what we have to do in this game. It's an exciting day, we want to honor the presence of the '91 SAC title team who will be back on campus for a reunion."
Carson-Newman lost to Newberry once already this season, 75-70 back on Dec. 2. Prior to Wednesday's loss to LMU, it marked the fewest points the Eagles had scored all year.
Rebounding was pivotal in the last meeting with the Wolves. Newberry grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, turning them into 14 second chance points en route to the 75-70 triumph a little over six weeks ago.
Newberry is second in the country with 13.4 three-point field goals made per game. The Wolves hit their average in their upset win over Carson-Newman earlier this year by knocking down 13 treys on 39 attempts.
The Wolves have hit double digit threes in every game they've played this season, topping out at 21 in a 100-83 win in the fourth game of the year against Bob Jones.
Newberry has lost five of its last seven games dating back to Dec. 13. The lone win in that span was a 111-99 triumph over the Mars Hill Lions before the Wolves rallied from a 14-point deficit at Catawba Thursday night to beat the Indians 92-87.
Newberry has forced the eighth most turnovers in the country, and with a +5 turnover margin, lead the South Atlantic Conference for that statistical category
Carson-Newman is looking to avoid back-to-back losses. Last time it happened was Jan. 25-28 of 2017 when the Eagles dropped two straight to Queens and Lincoln Memorial.
Newberry hasn't swept a season series from Carson-Newman since the 2011-12 campaign. That's also the last time the Wolves had back-to-back victories over the Eagles in general.
Carson-Newman leads the all-time ledger going into the 54th meeting between the two teams 33-20.
Shaun Jones (Lawrenceville, Ga.) has made 32 of his 37 career field goal attempts against the Wolves.
Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) is averaging 26.4 points per game in the five games since the Eagles returned to campus for the second semester.
Tipoff between Carson-Newman and Newberry is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Pregame coverage begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
