VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
Wingate (8-4, 4-2 South Atlantic Conference) is the opponent for the Eagles at Cuddy Arena
Carson-Newman is on its longest win streak over Wingate in the series' 55-game history. The Eagles have won four straight over Wingate. The Bulldogs had won 14 straight against the Eagles before C-N broke through with a 63-52 win at Cuddy Arena in January 2013. Carson-Newman has won five of six since then.
"The credit goes to our players on our processes and attention to detail," head coach Chuck Benson "These are always tough, hard-fought battles because you're playing a talented and well-coached Brian Goode team. You will get no easy open looks against his teams, that's their identifying marker."
The Eagles are currently riding a three-game win streak on which the offense has performed at an other-worldly clip.
The Eagles rank second in the country in field goal percentage averaging 52.1 percent from the field. The SAC has three of the top four most offensively efficient teams in the country. LMU is first (52.5), Queens is fourth (51.8). The Eagles have shot 58.3 percent from the field on their three-game win streak.
In addition, the Eagles have performed far better taking care of the basketball over its three-game win streak. The Eagles are averaging 15.6 turnovers a game, but haven't coughed it up more than 12 times in the last three contests. Furthermore, the Eagles are coming off a game where they allowed just four points off turnovers against Tusculum. C-N hadn't given up fewer than 10 points off turnovers this season (USC Aiken).
Wingate is the best shot-blocking team in the country. The Bulldogs average 4.7 blocks per game - the 30th best tally in the nation. The Bulldogs blocked 10 shots in a road win at Mars Hill and are coming off a nine blocked-shot effort in their 69-63 triumph over Coker. Lee McCall had a season-high six swats against MHU.
Part of the Eagles challenge this weekend comes from playing at Cuddy Arena; WU is 4-1 at home this season with wins over #6 Mount Olive and #20 UNC Pembroke.
Isiah Cureton leads Wingate this season with 15.8 points per game. He stuffed the stat sheet last time out in the Bulldogs' six-point win over Coker with four blocks, four steals and a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards. He shot 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from three.
"He's always going to be a handful," Benson said. "He can hurt you inside and outside. Now he's coming into his own as a junior. He's been a consistent performer year-by-year, so I'm not surprised by how he's performing now at all."
Anthanee Doyle, Xavier Griffin and Mike Baez round out the Bulldogs' double-digit scorers.
Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) continues to lead the Eagles. The sophomore has taken over the top spot as the league's leading scorer following a 25-point outing in the Eagles' win Wednesday over Tusculum. Clark averages 20.7 points per game.
Zack Pangallo (Newport, Ky.) is coming off a career high 19-point effort in the Eagles' win over Tusculum.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff.
