JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (19-10) will try to do something no foe has been able to do in nine years – knock top-seeded and seventh-ranked Lincoln Memorial (25-3) out of the conference tournament in the semifinal round.
The Eagles renew the rivalry for the 215th time Saturday at 5 p.m. in Greenville, S.C. at Furman's Timmons Arena. The Railsplitters swept the regular season series with C-N and look for a sixth straight win in the series for the first time ever.
"We made a big deal with our guys going into this postseason that all of our experiences in the regular season were critical," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "If we didn't learn from those experiences and apply them here, shame on us.
"I thought you could see a locked in focused effort in our quarterfinal win at Wingate. We will definitely need the same kind of approach and effort this weekend against LMU, especially when it comes to the follow through with our scout. It's all about us and us doing the best version of ourselves."
Carson-Newman and Lincoln Memorial have squared off four times in the league's tournament. The Railsplitters own a 3-1 record in postseason contests. The Eagles' lone win came in the 2015 title game. The Railsplitters are 2-0 in the semifinal round against C-N.
LMU has played for the title seven of the last nine years (the Railsplitters were CoVID positive during last year's tournament and did not compete). LMU has won seven straight semifinal games by double-digits. Wingate was the last team to hand the team from Harrogate a semifinal loss, winning 64-60 in 2012 semis en route to championship.
Carson-Newman enters the South Atlantic Conference tournament as a five seed for the first time since 2005. The Eagles lost to fourth-seeded Tusculum that year 93-76. The five seed is one of C-N's more productive seeds.
The Eagles have been a five three times, winning a title in 1994 and getting to the semifinals in 1998. Carson-Newman is 5-3 as a five. However, a five hasn't won the SAC title since the Eagles' run in 1994. Catawba is the only other five seed to take home a tournament title, beating Gardner-Webb 64-61 in 1991.
Only two five seeds have made it to championship Sunday since the Eagles were crowned in 1994. Mars Hill made the final in 1996 before bowing out to second-seeded Presbyterian in the title game 82-77. Lenoir-Rhyne scored an 83-68 win over top-seeded Queens in 2019 in the semifinals but fell 71-67 to Catawba in the title game.
EJ Bush has eyes on becoming the men's basketball program's 40th 1,000-point scorer all-time. Bush has 989 in his career at C-N and needs 11 more points. Tripp Davis became C-N's 39th 1,000-point scorer against Wingate in the quarterfinals with a 13-point night.
Chuck Benson has coached eight members of C-N's 1,000-point club (Charles Clark, Ish Sanders, Sawyer Willliams, Antoine Davis, Carson Brooks, Mason Bates, Malik Abraham and Davis). Prior to Davis, Bates and Abraham were the last two Eagles to join it, doing so in February of 2019 in back-to-back games against Coker and Anderson, respectively.
Bryant Thomas, the SAC's defensive player of the year, is once again among the best in the nation at rejecting shots. He is ninth nationally with 62 blocks and 14th in the country with 2.22 re-directs per game. Thomas is the league leader in both categories. His 60 rejections are the Eagles' single-season record.
Carson-Newman has the country's 28th best shot-blocking team with 115 total rejections. The Eagles lead the league for the category. Carson-Newman's 10-rejection day against Newberry is one of 32 double-digit rejection days in Division II this year. Five more blocks and Carson-Newman will match a single-season school record for most blocks in a season.
Tripp Davis is sixth in the country in total steals with 70 and 9th in steals per game with 2.62. Davis is in the top five for steals in a single season at Carson-Newman. Davis' 70 steals are third for a single-season all-time at C-N. Mike Morton (1971-72) is second with 79 steals.
Davis has 160 steals for his career. He passed Ishmail Simmons for fourth on the all-time career steal chart at C-N with his five swipes against Coker. It would take an extended tournament run for Davis to catch third place - Ish Sanders and his 183 steals.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Railsplitters is set for 5 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 4:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
