VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After starting the year with its longest road trip of the season, Carson-Newman (0-1, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference) makes its second-longest jaunt of the year – 242 miles to Cuddy Arena to take on Wingate (0-1, 0-1 SAC).
The Eagles and Bulldogs tip at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Carson-Newman enters the contest off a 14-point season-opening loss at Coker, while Tusculum dropped the Bulldogs by 12 in Greeneville.
Wingate saw a string of back-to-back season-opening victories come to a close with an 87-75 loss at Tusculum.
The Bulldogs return six of their top eight scorers from last year's squad, including the top two scorers led by preseason All-SAC honoree Jarren Cottingham.
Cottingham kicked off a string of seven consecutive 20-point performances last year with a 22-point game against Carson-Newman in Cuddy Arena last season. He ranked eighth in the SAC with 18.2 points per game last season.
"They not only have older guys, they have proven older guys," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They have guys who have a lot of court time and earned the confidence that they have."
He was the only player in the league to average over 18 points per game in under 30 minutes per contest, ranking second in the conference in points per 40 minutes. He shot 46 percent from the field and knocked down a team-best 51 triples. He was a two-time SAC Player of the Week last year.
Last year's meetings between the two teams were fouls fests. The teams were whistled for a combined 109 fouls in last year's games, including 35 by Carson-Newman in the meeting in Cuddy Arena. The teams shot a combined 130 free throws. In the season split, the winner of each game knocked down at least 30 free throws in their victory.
"The reality is that we are so focused on us as we go into this second competition with an outside opponent," Benson said. "This has definitely been different. We were so giddy to play Saturday that we weren't concerned about other things. Normally it's less about outcome and more about evaluation early. We're trying to lop that in while trying to win. That's tough."
Carson-Newman is 1-5 in its last six trips to Cuddy Arena. The Eagles last collected a win at the Bulldogs home arena on Jan. 13, 2018 with an 81-66 overtime win over the Bulldogs.
The Eagles have had their fair share of road struggles of late. Carson-Newman has two wins in its last 14 road trips. Wins at Coker (2/8/20) and UVA Wise (2/26/20) are the Eagles lone wins away from Holt Fieldhouse since March 2019.
"We had the choice to make, and we talked about it over and over as a staff and consulted with our sports medicine staff here. We didn't want to risk any exposure prior to regular season games starting," Benson said. "We decided not to scrimmage or exhibition prior to starting to play to maximize the chances of keeping our guys healthy."
Ren Dyer became the first freshman to produce a double-digit effort in a season-opener debut game in four years (Cam Andre v. Lander on Nov. 10, 2017). No player in the last 20 years has started their career with back-to-back double-digit efforts.
Tyler Bowens (Greenville, S.C.) nearly joined Dyer in double-digits at Coker. He finished with nine points and seven boards.
"They are both compeitiors," Benson said. "That was the first time they'd ever suited up in college. I couldn't be more pleased about them. I am so excited about the possibilities for them in the future."
Trey Smith put together three consecutive 10+-point games from Jan. 18-25 last year as the last C-N freshman with back-to-back double-digit efforts.
Carson-Newman and Wingate combined to go 5-of-28 from long range in their respective season openers. The Eagles and Bulldogs were to two coldest shooting teams from three on opening night in the South Atlantic Conference.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday from Cuddy Arena. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins 15 minutes prior to tip with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
