JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (5-6, 1-4 South Atlantic Conference) returns to the floor after a two-week layoff to open up the 2016 section of the schedule with a meeting with Mars Hill (5-6, 1-4 SAC) Saturday at 4 p.m. in Holt Fieldhouse.
The Eagles closed out the 2015 portion of their schedule in style with a 94-89 win over No. 20 Lenoir-Rhyne. The Lions got back on the floor Dec. 30 with an exhibition loss at Western Carolina 82-62.
The Eagles have won eight of its last 10 games against in Mars Hill. C-N leads the all-time series with MHU 52-16.
Prior to last year's 84-73 win over the Eagles in Holt Fieldhouse, Carson-Newman had won six straight against the Lions. Those games had been decided by an average of 19.25 points.
Carson-Newman has scored at least 90 points in seven of the last nine meetings with the Lions. The Eagles' 94-54 win over Mars Hill at Holt Fieldhouse during the 2013-14 season was the second largest for C-N in the series' history. The matchup is one of 41 games all-time for C-N in its program history that it's won by at least 40 points and was the first since the Eagles beat OSU-Mansfield 91-48 during the 2011-12 season.
The Eagles have typically performed well when opening up new years under Chuck Benson. Carson-Newman is 4-1 in games to start calendar years. The Eagles only christened 2013 with a loss when it fell at Queens 73-68.
Mars Hill revisits Holt Fieldhouse for the first time since Patrick Monroe blasted the Eagles with 31 points, including 9--for-17 shooting from beyond the arc in an 84-73 win for the Lions last year.
The Lions once more are prone to bomb it away from beyond the arc. MHU ranks 19th nationally with 312 three-point attempts, 15th in threes made with 120 and 13th in threes made per game with 10.9.
MHU features four players who average double figures. Justin Yeargin leads the way with 13.4 points while Michael Carson, Tyree Griffin and Patrick Monroe follow with 12.5, 12.0 and 11.8, respectively.
Tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
