JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-14, 6-11 South Atlantic Conference) will try to pump the breaks on the South Atlantic Conference and Southeast Region's second-longest winning streak when Catawba (17-6, 12-5 SAC) pays a visit to Holt Fieldhouse Saturday at 4 p.m.
Catawba enters the contest on a six-game winning streak. The six-game spurt is the second-longest winning streak in the region and the league behind Lincoln Memorial's 24-game surge. The Indians haven't lost a game since falling 92-91 at home to Anderson.
"We've had a comfortable response from our guys playing a different scheme," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They've taken too it and are playing confidently. Coming into this game, we're a half second away from three of our last four. We have some confidence, but we know it'll take everything we've got to win against one of the best teams in this region that has lots of talent and a lot of upperclassmen."
Carson-Newman's defense has picked up since switching to a zone defense on Feb. 1 against Anderson. While the Eagles are 2-2 in that span, they've limited their last four foes to 75 points or less. Since the switch, Eagle opponents are averaging 68.5 points per game, while shooting 39.5 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three. All of those totals are well below the Eagles' season averages.
With back-to-back wins under its belt for the first time since November/December, the Eagles take aim at their first three-game win streak of the season. C-N hasn't put together three consecutive victories in true fashion since last year's 5-0 start. Carosn-Newman had a retroactive three-game winning streak last year with wins over Mars Hill, Coker and Anderson. However, that Mars Hill game was split over two dates because of a leaky Holt Fieldhouse roof.
Tripp Davis comes into the contest off his sixth 20-point game of the year for the Eagles. He poured in 24 in the come-from-behind win over Lenoir-Rhyne. That came after a single-digit performance against Coker that snapped a string of 14 straight double-digit games. Davis is shooting 56 percent from the field over the last three contests for Carson-Newman.
Nobody goes a better job than Catawba at getting to the free throw line. Catawba has attempted 692 free throws and made 495 of them. Both those figures lead the nation. Catawba needs 139 more made free throws to match the 2013-14 Anderson team for the South Atlantic Conference record. The Indians average 21.5 made free throws per game, putting that record within reach presuming decent runs in the SAC and NCAA tournament.
Catawba averages 89.2 points per game, the nation's 13th best scoring offense and the conference's second best. The Indians have scored at least 80 points in all but one game since the return from the Christmas break. They've scored at least 90 in three straight contests.
"They are so good in transition," Benson said. "The other thing that helps them with that is that they turn you over. Then they are elite at getting up and down and getting north south to the rim and doing it in a hurry at a high level."
Carson-Newman turned the ball over a season-high 22 times in the first meeting. The Indians outscored the Eagles 19-15 in points off turnovers.
Tipoff Saturday between the Eagles and Indians is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts 15 minutes prior to gametime with the AEC Countdown To Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
