VIDEO: January Coker Cinematic Recap
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (20-9, 15-8 South Atlantic Conference) will look to send out seven seniors in style when it plays its final regular season contest inside Holt Fieldhouse at 4 p.m. Saturday against Coker (18-9, 14-9 SAC).
Carson-Newman will recognized Nick Brenengan (Greenville, S.C.), Joshuwa Butts (Atlanta, Ga.), Ousmane Dia (Dakar, Senegal), Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) Camden McElhaney (Sevierville, Tenn.), Tate Mulkey (Charlotte, N.C.) and John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) during a ceremony following the women's game.
Three out of four scenarios have Carson-Newman facing off with the Cobras again the next week in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference tournament. A win by C-N guarantees that the Eagles and Cobras would face off in the quarterfinals, but what seeds both would be is dependent on the outcome of UVA Wise's contest at Catawba. An Indians win and an Eagle win would set C-N as the three and Coker as the six. While an Eagle win and a Cavs win would make C-N the four seed and Coker the five.
A loss by C-N coupled with a Catawba win would put C-N, Coker and Wise in a three-way tie for third in the standings. Coker owns that tiebreaker and would be the three seed, pitting a fourth-seeded Wise against a fifth-seeded C-N in the quarters. Finally, a C-N loss coupled with a UVA Wise win would make the Cavs the three seed and the Eagles the four with a tiebreaker over fifth-seeded Coker.
This seven-person men's basketball senior class is responsible for a SAC title, an NCAA tournament appearance and a 92-48 record overall. The 92 wins are the most of any five-year stretch since moving to NCAA Division II. It is the only senior class in the school's Division II history that can boast of three, 20-win campaigns.
With 1,315 career points, Nick Brenegan ranks 22nd all-time in school history in scoring. He has connected on 279 career threes, good for second all-time in school history and fifth all-time in South Atlantic Conference history. Brenegan is responsible for the greatest shooting performance in NCAA Division II history when he single-handedly outscored Newberry with a 64-point night featuring an NCAA Division II record 18 threes made
A five-year player for C-N, Butts has appeared in 84 career games for C-N. He is top 15 all-time in career blocks with 42. He has shot 79 percent from the field over the last two seasons for the Eagles, including a career-best 81 percent this season.
A two-year player for C-N, Dia has appeared in 57 games in the Orange and Blue with 29 career starts. An infectious presence in the paint, he scored 10 points in his first career game for C-N against Lees-McRae. A potent-passing big man, he has four career five-assist games.
Hubbard has scored 1,122 points in his collegiate basketball career, including 909 in a C-N jersey. He is one of three players this century to produce a double-double in points and assists for the Eagles. His 4.9 career assist average is third all-time in school history. His 59.9 percent shooting clip this season is the most efficient mark among guards in the South Atlantic Conference.
A consummate glue guy, McElhaney has appeared in 92 games with six career starts for C-N. A career 55.3 percent shooter, he has 144 career points and 222 career rebounds. Earlier this season he produced his first career double-digit rebounding game against Emory & Henry. He is a two-time member of the NABC Honors Court.
A one-year player for Carson-Newman, Mulkey has scored 774 points in his collegiate basketball career. One of the South Atlantic Conference's best three-point shooters over the last three years, Mulkey has connected on 184 career threes. He is one of three players in the league over the last three years to hit 70 threes in successive seasons.
An Academic All-American and consensus all-region selection, Zhao is 21st all-time in scoring at C-N with 1,361 career points. He is the program record holder for career three-point percentage at 45.1 percent. With 228 career threes he ranks fifth all-time in school history. Zhao led the nation in three-point efficiency last season and is one of six players in NCAA Division II history to make 80 threes in a season at at least a 50 percent clip.
John Zhao is the ninth member of Carson-Newman's 200-three club. Nick Brenegan joined the club earlier this season. Brenegan has 278, good for second all-time in school history. It is unlikely that he catches the program's all-time leader Ish Sanders, and his 340 career threes. With 228 career threes, Zhao passed assistant coach Luke Brenegan and is officially fifth all-time in threes made. He needs 31 triples to draw level with Charles Clark and Malik Abraham for third all-time.
Zhao, Brenegan and Jack Browder are see-sawing around the all-time leading scoring list. Zhao has 1,361 career points Brenegan 1,315 and Browder 1,292. Zhao is oficially in the top 25 all-time in school history in scoring. He needs seven points to draw even with Mike Morton (1,368) to enter the top-20 all-time. Brenegan trails Zhao for 22nd all-time. Browder moved into the top 25 all-time in scoring passing Will Kinnick against Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. He looks to become the third Eagle this season and the 24th overall to crack 1,300 career points Saturday against Coker.
Nick Brenegan is the fourth player in school history with multiple 80-three seasons. With 83 threes, he leads the SAC, a figure that is 18th nationally. John Zhao can join him in that capacity with three more threes himself. Brenegan (108) and Ish Sanders (99) are the only two players in program history with more than 90 threes in a season.
Carson-Newman can get to 21 wins in the regular season for the third time in Chuck Benson's tenure as head coach. The 2017-18 team logged 22 wins in the regular season and last year's club won 21 regular season games. The 2001-02 Sweet 16 team is the only other team to get to 20 wins in the regular season since the program moved to NCAA Division II in 1992-93.
Coker's offense has been stupendous this season. Coker has hit triple digits in 10 of their first 12 games this season and 14 overall. Coker scored a program record 135 points in the first game of the season in a 135-76 win over Erskine. The Cobras have seven games with at least 110 points. Coker is second in the nation in points per game with 100.8 per contest.
Coker leads the nation in threes attempted and made. Coker makes an average of 14.1 threes per game. Coker has made double-digit threes in every game this season except a 9-for-31 effort in a 93-86 loss to Catawba on Jan. 15. The Cobras have made 15 or more threes in nine of their games this season. Coker has attempted 40 or more threes in nine games as well, including an insane 54 in the opener against Erskine.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Cobras is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream can be found with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMbb.
