JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman will celebrate the 60th, 50th and 40th anniversaries of the 1962-63, 1972-73 and 1982-83 men's basketball teams when it takes on Anderson Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse.
In 1962-63, the Eagles went 27-5 and won two games in the NAIA national tournament before falling to Grambling. The 1972-73 team went 31-7 and captured VSAC regular season and tournament titles, while the 1982-83 team went 31-5 and made it to the Elite Eight of the NAIA national tournament.
Carson-Newman has won four straight games against Anderson and three consecutive by double digits. In the last eight halves of basketball against the Trojans, two have featured Anderson making more than 40 percent of its shots. Carson-Newman held the Trojans to 6-of-24 shooting in the second half of a 77-60 win at the Abney Center last year.
Carson-Newman is trying to avoid a second five-game losing streak this season. The Eagles hadn't suffered through a five-game skid in Chuck Benson's 13-year tenure as head coach prior to this season, but are in danger of suffering through two in an unlucky 13th year.
Bryant Thomas is the ultimate shot-stopper. Carson-Newman's single-game, single-season and career record-holder for blocks now sits on 173. 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. One rejection 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 1,046 career points, senior guard Luke Brenegan will look to begin moving up the program's all-time scoring list. Brenegan is currently sixth all-time in Carson-Newman history in scoring. A 13-point game would move him into a tie for 35th with Pete Billingsly (1,059 points).
Anderson is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country. The Trojans lead the SAC in threes made per game, sinking 10.6 a contest - a figure that ranks 13th nationally. The Trojans have 15 games where they've buried double-digit triples, including a school-record 22 in a 30-point win at Wingate.
West Liberty transfer Garrett Denbow has been the top marksman. He is second in the SAC in efficiency, canning 44.1 percent of his threes. He leads the league in threes made per game (3.41) and threes made this season (75) for which he ranks third and seventh, respectively, nationally.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Anderson is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream will be available through FloSports at cneagles.com/floMbb.
