VIDEO: Southern Wesleyan Highlights 2022
VIDEO: 2022 SWU Cinematic
VIDEO: Full game replay of 2022 SWU game
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (2-0) opens up the doors to Holt Fieldhouse Saturday at 2 p.m. with a non-conference tilt against Southern Wesleyan (0-2).
Carson-Newman has won its home opener in seven of the last eight seasons, including last year 109-58 over the Warriors.
"We spent the first part of the week working on us and things we need to improve on," head coach Chuck Benson said. "They second half was spent working on SWU. They are much improved from last year. We'll need to be the best version of ourselves if we want the outcome that we want."
Carson-Newman is off to its first 2-0 start in five years. The Eagles were 2-0 to kickoff the 2018-19 season en route to a 5-0 start. That year, the Eagles collected wins over Southern Wesleyan, Lander, Lees-McRae, King and Tennessee Wesleyan before dropping a game to Lincoln Memorial at Tex Turner Arena.
Carson-Newman has won five straight games dating back to the 2022- 23 season. As a result, the Eagles' five-game win streak registers as the second-longest active win streak in the country behind defending national champion Nova Southeastern's 39-game win streak. The Eagles are tied for the mark with the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Since moving into a starting role last year, Nick Brenegan has produced eight consecutive double-digit scoring days - a career-long mark. Since moving into a starting role, Brenegan is averaging 16.83 points per game on a 49.2/48.3/85.7 slash line He has made a three in nine consecutive games.
Southern Wesleyan scored points by the bunches in two losses to start the season to Flagler and Coker. At 96 points per game, the Warriors have the 14th-best scoring offense in the country.
While the Warriors put up points, they also give up points. SWU's two opponents are averaging 100 points per game a figure that ranks 276th nationally.
"They've had two really sound opponents in their opening weekend and tested both of them," Benson said. "They easily could be 2-0. Their scoring punch is significant. We can't reflect on last year. This year we have to defend and rebound at an elite level."
In spite of losing starting center Bryant Thomas, Carson-Newman picked up where it left off last year rebounding the ball. C-N had a double-digit rebounding margin against both Lees-McRae and King. C-N's an average of +12 on the glass, the 12th-best rebounding margin in the country and the best in the South Atlantic Conference. Sophomore Jack Browder leads the league in rebounding with 10 boards per game.
The last time C-N and SWU got together, C-N tallied the sixth-largest margin of victory in school history. The Eagles prevailed 109-58 – Carson-Newman's first 50+-point win in 37 years, its 10th overall and its first as a member of NCAA Division II. Carson-Newman's bench scored a whopping 60 points in the blowout win.
Southern Wesleyan has lost nine straight road games, tied for the 12th-longest active road losing streak in the country. Southern Wesleyan hasn't won away from Tysinger Gymnasium since a Dec. 3, 2022 win at Erskine that saw the Warriors prevail 79-64 (Erskine hasn't won in 34 tries and owns the nation's longest active losing streak).
Tipoff between the Eagles and Warriors is set for 2 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 1:45 on cneagles.com/live with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff. A video stream is available through a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMBB.
