JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-4) steps out of South Atlantic Conference play for its lone scheduled non-conference matchup of the 2020-21 campaign when it faces Bluefield State (1-2) for the first time in nine years Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Fans will not be permitted in attendance for the Wednesday game.
The Eagles are 1-1 against the Big Blue with Chuck Benson as head coach, losing in Benson's first season in 2010, 80-78, before dominating BSC in 2011, 99-80. Byron Carpenter had 38 points and 11 rebounds for BSC in that meeting, the second highest points allowed to an individual player in program history. The Eagles used a 17-0 first-half run to guide their last win in the series.
"It's easier than one might think to try to build on success (from beating L-R on Saturday) because we've not played a lot," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We don't have that mid to late January malaise because our guys are just excited to play and they want to make the most of every opportunity we get."
Carson-Newman is taking aim at back-to-back wins for the first time since Feb. 8-12, 2020 when the Eagles downed Lenoir-Rhyne and Coker in two straight games.
Shot-blocking hasn't been something that Carson-Newman has been known for in the last decade, typically ranking outside the top 100 nationally for the category. However, that's not true this year. The Eagles' 3.8 blocks per game leads the SAC and is 17th nationally.
Meanwhile, Bryant Thomas and his 1.83 blocks per game rank tops in the league and 27th nationally. If the season were to end today, it'd rank as the second best shot-blocking season in program history, while Thomas' 1.83 blocks per game would be second all-time.
Carson-Newman has the league's top scoring defense, allowing 67.6 points per game. Carson-Newman also has the league's stingiest field goal defense, giving up 39.4 percent shooting. If you filter out NCAA programs that have played five or fewer games, Carson-Newman's field goal defense would rank 10th nationally.
"This is one of those style makes the fight scenarios," Benson said. "Our guys are committed to doing what we do and maintaining poise and staying committed to what we do."
Bluefield State has surrendered 100 points in two of their games. The Big Blue opened the year with a 111-92 loss to Lincoln back on Nov. 23 before allowing King to score 106 in a 106-82 win on Saturday. Carson-Newman hasn't given up more than 100 in 33 games - a 103-101 loss at Lees-McRae to open last season. Furthermore, the Eagles haven't cracked the century mark since Dec. 14, 2019 with a 100-70 win over Coker.
The Big Blue is last nationally in scoring defense. They are the only program in the country to give up more than 100 points per game (granted this comes with a small three-game sample size).
Bluefield State is led by Alex Nunnally. The 6-6 post averages 17.4 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.
"He's built like a brick house and he plays hard," Benson said. "They have a small sample size of games, but you can tell he is a tough physical, determined guy who wants to play around the basket. We have to impact his rebounding."
Tipoff between the Eagles and Big Blue is set for 6 p.m. Coverage of the contest starts 15 minutes prior to gametime with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff. The contest will be broadcast web only on cneagles.com/live.
