JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Two of the South Atlantic Conference's longest active win streaks collide when Carson-Newman (6-3, 4-2 South Atlantic Conference) makes the trek to the Palmetto State to tackle Newberry (3-5, 3-3 SAC) Saturday at 4 p.m. from Eleazer Arena.
The Eagles have the league's longest active win streak at five games, while the Wolves have the conference's third longest at three games.
After an 0-5 start, Newberry has won three straight games, including a 67-65 decision in their last game over No. 11 Queens.
"Newberry historically under coach Jason Taylor has had an offensive identity specifically tied to their dribble-drive motion offense," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "At the end of the day though, this is all about players. We have to know about Ford, Brown and McCollum. Those three are all all-conference caliber players."
Newberry has been inefficient offensively this year, but really good on the offensive glass. The Wolves shoot a league-worst 39.8 percent from the field - a figure that is 16th from the bottom nationally. However, Newberry gets oodles of seconds and thirds. The Wolves are 12th in the country with 14.62 offensive rebounds per game and second in the SAC.
Quandaveon McCollum has continued his efforts on the offensive glass - averaging 4.0 offensive boards to lead the league. He is the eighth best offensive rebounder statistically in the country.
The Wolves took a 70-67 decision from the Eagles in the lone meeting last year in Holt Fieldhouse. TJ Brown paced all scorers that day with 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting that day. Ford added in 10 points and four assists.
"Ford and Brown both have a history of shot-making and scoring," Benson said. "They are really good off the bounce. Here of late they have shot the cover off the ball."
Carson-Newman is looking for its first win over the Wolves since Jason Taylor took over as the Wolves head coach in the 2019-20 season. Newberry is 3-0 over C-N with him at the helm. The Wolves have never won four straight games over C-N in the 60-game history of the series.
Jason Taylor returned last year after a four-year absense from the conference after he spent nearly half a decade as an assistant at Tennessee Tech. Taylor coached Anderson to two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight. Chuck Benson has a 6-9 record against Taylor as a head coach.
Carson-Newman's defense and rebounding has picked up in the month of December. Since the calendar turned, Carson-Newman has been averaging 47.7 rebounds per game and a +15 rebounding margin for the month.
At the same time, Carson-Newman has limited its last three foes below 40 percent shooting - the fifth such streak under head coach Chuck Benson and the third in the last two seasons. Opponents are averaging 36.7 percent shooting against Carson-Newman for the month of December from the field and 23.8 percent shooting from three.
"Some of it is that we are a third of the way through the regular season," Benson said. "Our experiences have seen us grow and evolve. They've helped us build upon each game. The other part is that we've had our share of curve balls and adversity. The situations we've dealt with with personnel have hopefully come to a close. Ren gets back to form from injury and then Caleb finally gets some opportunities to add value. That's something to still figure out."
Bryant Thomas comes into the contest with 86 career blocks, 14 away from becoming Carson-Newman's second triple-digit block performer for a career. He currently sits fifth all-time. Three more rejections and he will match Jeff Marshall (1991-95) for fourth all-time (89). A fourblock game puts Thomas even with Josh Rogers (2012-16) for third on the all-time list (90). Five blocks and he ties Brandon Evans (2009-11) for second (91).
Thomas is once again among the best in the nation at rejecting shots. He is fifth nationally with 20 blocks and 17th in the country with 2.22 re-directs per game. Thomas is the league leader in both categories.
"He is hungry and works," Benson said. "He is coachable and humble. He's everything you'd want a player to be in their emergence. He's just past the halfway point of his career. Nothing he is doing is surprising. He had an incredible spring last year and worked hard in the offseason. I love seeing it for him and for our team."
Tipoff from Eleazer Arena is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
