VIDEO: Chuck Benson previews Newberry
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Revenge won't be on Carson-Newman's (10-7, 6-5 South Atlantic Conference) mind when it travels to Eleazer Arena for a rare Sunday game with Newberry (11-6, 6-5 South Atlantic Conference).
Instead, the Eagles just want to cut down on turnovers after giving the ole' leather pumpkin away 28 times leading to 28 Newberry points as the Wolves rallied in the final minute to beat C-N 86-84 in the first meeting this season at Holt Fieldhouse.
"We absolutely have to cut down on the turnovers from the last time we face them," head coach Chuck Benson said. "We're in a better place with more experience than we were earlier this season. Turnovers is their identity. Our magic number is to keep that under 12. It'll be a challenge for our primary ball handlers to keep that figure low."
The Eagles led by four going into the final minute of the last meeting. However, C-N coughed it up three times in the game's final 47 seconds and Newberry came back to get the win.
Carson-Newman is hoping to avoid its first sweep at the hands of the Newberry Wolves since the 2011-12 season.
Gerald Evans had 24 points and hit five of his nine three point attempts to guide the Wolves attack in the last meeting.
"He had a career night against us," Benson said. "He's their best penetrator and we'll need to contain him one on one with spot discipline behind him with our zone. They're so dynamic offensively and they have so many scoring options, it's not going to be the norm to hold them way way down."
Newberry still represents one of the best offenses in the country. The Wolves rank third in scoring (94.7 ppg) and ninth in threes per game (10.9). On top of that, Newberry's defensive pressure has forced a nation's best 22 turnovers per game while also 11.3 steals per game, third in the country.
The Eagles have been on a solid run of late, winning six of their last seven contests, including three straight after Thursday's 67-59 win at Anderson.
Of the last 120 minutes of game action, Carson-Newman has had the lead for 114 minutes and 59 seconds of that time. The Eagles have led wire-to-wire in each of their three victories following their 71-48 loss at Wingate Jan. 9.
C-N will look to keep the trend of wins going on a rare Sunday game. The Eagles will be playing on a Sunday for just the second time in the last four seasons. The last Sunday game in Souther Carolina went ok for the Eagles. C-N beat LMU in the SAC title game in Greenville 63-48 en route to an NCAA tournament appearance for a second straight year.
"Snowpaolypse is upon us I guess," head coach Chuck Benson said. "We've already had one curveball this week with the change earlier with Anderson. We just have to take it one day at a time and emphasize what we're doing in each moment."
Carson-Newman will refocus its efforts at the charity stripe. The Eagles entered the game leading the league in free throw shooting (76 percent) but connected on just 16 of their 30 free throws against the Trojans, good for a season low 53.3 percent effort.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Wolves is set for 4 p.m. Sunday. Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 p.m. with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
