VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (5-7, 2-4 South Atlantic Conference) will have to contend with one of the county's top three-point shooting teams when it pays a visit to Lenoir-Rhyne (6-5, 2-4 SAC) for a 7:30 tip from Shuford Gym Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne is one of the most aggressive three-point shooting teams. The Bears are 23rd nationally and second in the SAC with 11.1 made threes per game.
The Bears are coming off a 19-point win over Coker where they matched a school record knocking down 19-of-34 three-point shots
"They are an incredibly effective three-point shooting team," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They play a smaller lineup, which can cause problems for a lot of teams in our league. We will absolutely have our hands full defensively against a team playing with great fan support on their home floor."
RJ Gunn is the league's fourth leading scorer, averaging 20.4 points per game. He has scored in double figures in every game this season, including in seven of the last nine for the Bears. He had 36 in a 103-99 win at Clayton State. Gunn has knocked down at least one three in every game this season.
"Gunn, Darius Simmons and Mason Hawks – those guys are proven commodities and have done it for years now," Benson said. "They are all elite shooters."
Cooper Fowler has been a star turned for the Bears since 2020 started. Fowler had 21 points in the first nine games of the season. However, he's dropped 22 in each of the last two games for the Bears, including a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double against Wingate. At 6-10, and 275 points, he is the SAC's fourth most efficient three-point shooter, knocking down 46 percent of his threes.
"Fowler has gotten comfortable and his confidence is booming," Benson said. "He's an outlier. He's a really big guy who has a perimeter skillset to go along with a post skillset. We know how we need to defend them, the question is can we execute that."
After losing four straight games away from home, the Bears have gotten back on the front foot with back-to-back big home wins over Coker and Wingate.
Carson-Newman is looking for its first road win since March 2, 2019 when the Eagles took an 89-78 win over the Newberry Wolves in Eleazer Arena. Carson-Newman is 0-3 this year on the road. Shuford Gym is always a tough place to play, the Eagles are 3-5 all-time in the building under Chuck Benson.
Carson-Newman is one of the country's top rebounding teams. The Eagles have grabbed at least 40 boards in all but two games and have only been outrebounded twice (Shorter and Mars Hill). C-N ranks third nationally with 46 boards per game. C-N is sixth in offensive rebounding with 15.25 offensive boards per game. The Eagles are +7.6 on the glass, the 17th best margin in the country. In comparison, L-R averages 32 boards per game and is -9.8 on the glass and is 299th out of 303 Division II teams in rebounding margin.
Tripp Davis has produced back-to-back 20-point games following up a career-high 27 points against Mars Hill with a 22-point effort at Catawba. Davis is the first player this season with back-to-back 20-point games for the Eagles and the first since Grant Teichmann earned SAC and TSWA Player of the Week honors last season with a 26-point game against King followed by a 24-point outing against Tennessee Wesleyan.
Tipoff between Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts 15 minutes prior to gametime with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Seviervile) and online at cneagles.com/live
