JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – When Carson-Newman (7-14, 4-11 South Atlantic Conference) clashes with Coker (5-14, 4-11 SAC) Saturday at 4 p.m. inside the DeLoach Center, one team will exit having shed a losing streak.
Both the Eagles and Cobras have dropped four straight and will be looking to gain traction with an eye on making the South Atlantic Conference championships in March.
"Somebody's going to be rather happy at the end of Saturday," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Hopefully we perform well enough that we're that happy bunch. I keep on saying this, but our response in practice and response in scout, we're doing a lot of the right things, we have to find the confidence required to perform for 40 minutes and especially the last four minutes of a game."
The Eagles won the first meeting this season inside Holt Fieldhouse 100-70. It actually marked a second straight game over Coker that Carson-Newman overcame a 12-point deficit to win.
Carson-Newman will be trying to extend a 10-game winning streak in the series with the Cobras. Coker won five of the first six meetings all-time, but the Eagles haven't dropped a contest to the Cobras since the 2014-15 season. Carson-Newman's nine-game win streak is its longest active win streak against a SAC foe. Carson-Newman has put up 100 points in four of the last six games with the Cobras. Coker did snap a string of four-straight double digit losses in a 75-73 defeat to the Eagles in the February 2019 meeting in Holt Fieldhouse, however, five of the last six meetings have been double-digit wins for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman will try to put a halt to a nine-game road losing streak. The Eagles haven't won away from Holt since March 2, 2019 with an 89-78 win at Newberry. It's the Eagles longest road skid since C-N lost nine straight away from Holt from Feb. 5, 2011 to Jan. 25 2012. C-N snapped that skid when the Eagles handed fifth-ranked LMU a 64-61 defeat in Harrogate. Carson-Newman has just one win in its last 15 road games. Carson-Newman hasn't dropped 10 consecutive road contests since losing 16 straight away from home from Dec. 13, 2008 through Jan. 16, 2010. Carson-Newman halted that skid with a 62-58 win at Tusculum.
"We've been really wise to take focus off of outcomes, which are very important," Benson said. "But we've tried to maintain our focus on our controllables. Our guys are still trying to grasp that completely. That mindset is allowing us to stay positive and hopeful in the face of adversity."
Coker has been trying to find its offensive footing of late. The Cobras are averaging 67.1 points per game, bottom of the South Atlantic Conference. The Cobras are 280 out of 303 teams in NCAA Division II in terms of scoring offense. Coker hasn't cracked 80 points since an 81-77 win over UVa-Wise on Jan. 18. That's one of two outings they've had scoring 80 plus this season. The Cobras are also bottom of the league in field goal efficiency and three-point efficiency.
After scoring a combined 25 points in all of 2019 for the Cobras, Malcom Kennedy has been an asset since the calendar turned to 2020. Kennedy has turned in double digit scoring efforts in eight of the Cobras 10 games since returning from Christmas break. Kennedy went for 30 in the Cobras 81-77 win at UVa-Wise. He has knocked down 25 of his last 59 threes and is shooting 43 percent from long range over the Cobras last six games. In that span, he has a quartet of games where he has made at least four triples.
"He has stepped up and delivered, and been delivering consistently," Benson said. "He's an elite shot-maker with range who can also take it inside and get into the paint. He'll be a challenge to defend because his confidence is just booming."
The Cobras are 7.3 points per game better at home than on the road. Additionally, Coker shoots 44.3 percent from the field in the DeLoach center versus 39.2 percent away.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Cobras is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 p.m. on the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
