VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (6-9, 3-6 South Atlantic Conference) hits the road for the penultimate game of the front half of SAC play with a date with Newberry (9-6, 5-4 SAC) Saturday at Eleazer Arena.
The Eagles are looking to snap a five-game road losing streak while getting Chuck Benson to 300 career victories as a head coach.
Benson is looking to become the third active coach in the SAC with 300 career victories and the sixth overall. Josh Schertz of Lincoln Memorial and Bart Lundy of Queens are the only other coaches in the league with 300 career triumphs. Lenoir-Rhyne's John Lentz, Carson-Newman's Dale Clayton and Presbyterian's Gregg Nibert all have 300 career wins.
To get Benson there on the first try, the Eagles will need to do something they haven't done since March 2, 2019, win away from Holt Fieldhouse.
Granted, the Eagles are playing in the site of their last road win. C-N closed out last year's regular season with an 89-78 triumph over the Wolves at Eleazer Arena on March 2 of last season. The Eagles are 0-4 on the road this season and 0-5 away from Holt Fieldhouse.
"You've got to gain confidence and confidence comes from demonstrated ability," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We're going to continue to learn, and at some point, we will learn to do wining brand of basketball for 40 minutes away from home."
Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) has turned in a sensational five-game stretch for the Eagles. Davis is averaging 23.8 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from three in that span.
Davis can match Charles Clark's Division II era record for most consecutive games with 20 or more points. Clark had two six-game runs in his career with 20+, one his sophomore year in January 2016 and another his junior year in February 2017. His run in his junior year included a trio of triple doubles and school/SAC record 54-point outing to cap the spurt.
Carson-Newman has won four straight games over the Wolves. However this is a different Newberry team from what the Eagles have been accustomed to seeing.
Former head coach Dave Davis left to take an assistant's job at Winthrop in the offseason. Former Anderson head coach Jason Taylor returns after a four-year absence from the conference after he spent nearly half a decade as an assistant at Tennessee Tech.
"They are completely contrasting styles," Carson-Newman head coach Chuck Benson said. "Dave was 40 minutes of fast-paced in your face pressure with volume threes. Jason is a more controlled chessmaster. It's a situation where he's in the process of implementing his system and style. And with that, they're very good because you're blending some of the better aspects of both Dave and Jason's teams."
Taylor coached Anderson to two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight. Chuck Benson has a 6-6 record against Taylor as a head coach.
Newberry has the South Atlantic Conference's top rebounder in Angelo Sales.
"He is relentless seeking defensive rebounds and finding offensive rebounds," Benson said. "He's got effort carved into his DNA."
He averages 9.6 boards per game, nearly a rebound ahead of C-N's EJ Bush, who checks in in second with 8.6 boards per game. Sales is coming off a 26-point, 17-rebound double-double in a win over Wingate.
He had a 25-point, 20-rebound game against Catawba in a two-overtime win earlier this year.
The Wolves have the SAC's top two three-point marksmen. Marcus Ford and Luke Gibson and one and two in the league in three-point field goal percentage at 47.6 and 47.4 percent, respectively. Ford averages 2.0 threes per game while Gibson checks in with 2.5 a night.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Wolves is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
