JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (6-6, 2-4 South Atlantic Conference) makes the 49.6-mile journey east to Pioneer Arena looking for its first SAC road win of the year when it takes on Tusculum (6-4, 2-3 SAC) Wednesday at 8 p.m.
The Eagles own the all-time series 78-29 heading into the 108th meeting between the programs. Tusculum took last year's meeting in Holt Fieldhouse 91-90 while the Eagles won in Greeneville 73-68.
The Pioneers have taken 27 of the last 20 meetings, but the Eagles have dominated the series of late, winning five of the last seven.
"They've got really good, veteran guard play, especially with Darius Carter coming back after sitting out last year with an injury," head coach Chuck Benson said. "It's been surprising to me these past few years because their records haven't shown what I thought they were, which were quality capable teams. This year it's come together for them nicely and their sitting in a winning position."
Over the 108 meetings, Carson-Newman has an 11.27 average margin of victory over Tusculum. At one point, when C-N won 28 straight meetings in the series from 1965-1978, the Eagles average margin of victory was 21.89 points.
Tusculum has fared far better offensively in 2015-16 than it did in 2014-15. Last year the Pioneers averaged 72 points per game en route to a 7-21 record. This season the Pioneers are averaging nearly 83 points per game and are a win away from matching their victory tally from a year ago.
In spite of turnovers, Carson-Newman continues to be one of the most offensively efficient teams in the country. The Eagles rank third in field goal percentage (51.7 percent) behind West Liberty and Queens. The Eagles are third from the bottom nationally in turnovers, but still manage to have a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio.
Carson-Newman is searching for its first league road win of the year. The Eagles have only shot better than 50 percent away from Holt once this season (USC Aiken), while at home, the Eagles have only failed to crack 50 percent shooting once (Lander).
"We have to continue to be a sound scoring team," Benson said. "We've kept our turnovers low these past couple games. But we have to continue to operate very efficiently offensively."
Tusculum scored its first ever victory over a top-10 team earlier this season when it down then No. 7 King 99-94. The Pioneers trailed by 21 in the second half before a 25-5 rally put TC in front.
This matchup features three brothers. Matt Knight (Abingdon, Va.) suits up for the Eagles as a reserve freshman post player while twin brothers Josh and Jonathan Knight play for Tusculum in their final years of eligibility.
Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) is second in the league in scoring and leading Carson-Newman with 20.3 points per game. The Eagles have posted back-to-back games where all five starters have finished in double figures. Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) has led C-N in scoring in both affairs with back-to-back 20-point efforts.
The Pioneers feature three double-digit scorers. Darius Carter leads the way with 16.0 points, Chase Mounce adds 13.5 and Javon Price has 9.2. Corey Fagan, who had 28 points the last time the teams got together on 7-for-10 shooting from three, is averaging 6.5 points this season.
"We want to limit open shots from guys like Corey Fagan," Benson said. "The thing that stood out to me was their ability to drive and dish."
Tipoff from Greeneville is set for 8 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
