VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-17, 6-14 South Atlantic Conference) hits the road for the final time in 2020 when it tangles with UVa-Wise (5-21, 1-19 SAC) Wednesday night at 7:30 in the Prior Convocation Center.
Carson-Newman is unbeaten all-time against UVa-Wise, winning the first 12 games in the series. The Eagles last game inside the Prior Convocation Center came on Nov. 15, 2017 with an 88-65 decision. Charles Clark had 20 points, six boards and four assists. Reece Anderson is the lone player on the roster left from that game. He had seven points and a rebound with a 5-of-9 effort at the charity stripe.
Carson-Newman's 78-69 win over the Highland Cavaliers on Jan. 22 represented head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson's 300th career win.
UVA-Wise head coach Blake Mellinger should ring a bell to CarsonNewman fans. Mellinger is no stranger to teaching the game of basketball as his father and grandfather were both coaches, making him a third generation coach in the Mellinger family. Blake's grandfather, Arnold, is the only men's basketball player to have his jersey retired at C-N. The elder Mellinger competed for the Eagles from 1954-57 and scored 1,826 career points, ranking seventh all-time in Carson-Newman history.
"It's always great to see the Mellinger family," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "The relationships we'd established with Arnold and Temple down through Blake. However, familial relationships aside, our main focus is on our last road game of the season and making sure that we perform as best we can to give ourselves a chance to win."
Carson-Newman's defense has picked up since switching to a zone defense on Feb. 1 against Anderson. While the Eagles are 2-5 in that span, they've limited all but one of their last seven foes to 75 points or less. Since the switch, Eagle opponents are averaging 70.4 points per game, while shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 33.0 percent from three. All of those totals are well below the Eagles' season averages.
The Eagles rank 13th nationally and first in the SAC with 41.33 rebounds per game. Carson-Newman has grabbed at least 40 boards in 14 of its games this season with at least 50 grabbed in a pair of contests.
The Highland Cavaliers have dropped 15 straight games dating back to an 86-59 win over Ohio-Chillicothe on Dec. 19. The Cavs have dropped their last four games on the streak by double-digits, but a third of the losses on the skid have been by five or less point. At 15 games, the Cavs' losing streak is the second-longest active streak in the country behind Shorter's 17-game skid.
UVa-Wise guard Cameron Whiteside is the league's leading scorer at 20.8 points per game. Whiteside has scored in double digits in every game this season with the exception of the first against King. He has 15, 20-point games and five, 30-point affairs.
"He can score from three, off the catch and off the bounce," Benson said. "He has a variety of finishes at the rim and can make his free throws. He does it all. He's hot and he's excitable. We have to make sure we have answers for that."
Tipoff between the Eagles and Cavs is set for 7:30 p.m. 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, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
