JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (11-11, 5-7 South Atlantic Conference) hits the road to mountains north of Asheville for a Wednesday night affair with Mars Hill (6-15, 2-10 SAC) inside Burt Stanford Arena.
The Eagles aim for a season-sweep of the Lions for a third straight season after collecting an 82-70 win over the Lions on Dec. 14.
"After the Catawba game, we need to replicate the effort and competitive fire that we had in the second half," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We are going to play the guys who do that, period. If I have a question where someone is mentally or physically, thank goodness we have enough guys who can do that. We'll start there. I think I have been a grace-based coach in letting guys figure things out, but if the competitive juice isn't there, we have problems."
The Eagles have lost three straight this season and nine of their last 10. However, Carson-Newman is aiming for a sixth-straight victory over Mars Hill.
Carson-Newman has beaten the Lions by double-digits in each of the previous five wins. Six of those 10 halves of basketball, Carson-Newman has shot at least 52 percent from the field, and has four halves where it has made 60 percent or better of its shots.
If you discount Mars Hill's wins in the series, Carson-Newman has won its last eight games against the Lions by double-digits. Of Carson-Newman's last 12 wins in the series dating back to the 2015-16 season, 10 of those victories have been by double-digits.
Bryant Thomas dropped 27 points in the first meeting with the Lions this season, the third-highest scoring total by any Eagle this season behind his 28-point game against Lees-McRae and Caleb Bridgewater's 30-point outburst against Tennessee Wesleyan.
In the first meeting, Carson-Newman shot 65.5 percent after halftime, including a 16-of-19 mark inside the three-point arc to erase a five-point halftime deficit and turn it into a fifth consecutive double-digit win over the Lions. Thomas was especially effective after halftime when he had 17 of his points, four of his blocks and all three of his steals.
Ren Dyer and Bryant Thomas had dueling double-doubles for Carson-Newman in the first meeting - Thomas with 27 points and 11 boards, Dyer with 14 points and 12 rebounds. • John Zhao, Dyer and Thomas combined for 42 points after halftime. They accounted for 82 percent of the Eagles scoring after halftime.
Bryant Thomas is the ultimate shot-stopper. Carson-Newman's single-game, single-season and career record-holder for blocks now sits on 172. He has the fourth most blocked shots among active players in NCAA Division II. Thomas leads the league this season with 2.1 rejections per game and is top 15 in the country in blocks per game in that regard.
Thomas can start moving up the SAC record book for rejections. Three rejections will move him into the top-10 all-time in SAC history with Chris Wooddridge (Catawba, 2003-07). Jeff Parker (Wingate 2010-14) sits in ninth on the league's all-time list with 181.
With 1,036 career points, senior guard Luke Brenegan will look to begin moving up the program's all-time scoring list. He needs three points to tie former teammate Tripp Davis for 36th on the all-time scoring list. A 23-point game would move him into a tie for 35th with Pete Billingsly (1,059 points).
Tipoff between the Eagles and Lions is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
