JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (7-2) renews one of its long-standing rivalries from its days as an NAIA program when Tennessee Wesleyan (4-7) visits Holt Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. matinee Tuesday.
Carson-Newman renews one of its oldest rivalries when it plays old Volunteer State Athletic Conference foe Tennessee Wesleyan for the 90th time Tuesday. C-N leads the all-time ledger 52-37.
The Eagles and Bulldogs have met just six times since Carson-Newman moved to Division II in the early 1990s. C-N is 6-1 in those meetings, losing 78-69 in 1998, winning 78-71 in 1999, 75-60 in 2010, 98-74 in 2014, 81-73 in 2018, 103-70 in 2019 and by a series-best margin of 110-65 last year. The two teams met three-four times every year from 1968-1991.
Carson-Newman and Tennessee Wesleyan share some connections. Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin is a Tennessee Wesleyan alum and a member of the TWC Athletic Hall of Fame. Carson-Newman head men's soccer coach Stephen Lyons played and coached for the Bulldogs before moving to Mossy Creek. Carson-Newman's fourth all-time leading scorer and Hall of Famer Steve Adams coached the Bulldogs' basketball program from 1994-2004.
"I always enjoy the old rivalries," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "With the Bulldogs coming in before the break, we need to finish strong and not put our sleigh in front of our reindeer."
The Bulldogs are a bit of a mystery, wrapped in an enigma this season. TWU scores a respectable 70.9 points per game, and yet, does not have a player averaging double-digits on the roster. Amauri Young is the leading scorer, averaging 9.2 points per game.
"We focus on other things," Benson said. "We want to make sure our transition defense and our defensive rebounding are elite. I can't think of many games when personnel isn't a prime part of the discussion in getting ready for a game. In this particular game, they are more balanced and its more of a collective thing. In real time, we will need to identify anyone who may be a big point producer for their team."
Nick Brenegan has scored in double digits in 14 consecutive games. He is the only Eagle with a double-digit scoring effort in every game this year for C-N. Brenegan is averaging 16.5 points per game in his 20 career starts.
Brenegan's 3.89 made triples per game are the most in the SAC and second nationally. He also ranks 14th nationally and tops in the SAC in percentage at 49.3 percent for the season. Brenegan has buried multiple threes in every game this season. He's made a three in 15 straight games dating back to last season. He has made at least three threes in five straight games.
The quartet of John Zhao, Nick Brenegan, Jack Browder and Trey Hubbard all averages more than 14 points per game, with Zhao leading the way at 20.4 points per game - second in the SAC. Carson-Newman is the only school in the league with four players in the top 20 in scoring. Wingate and Limestone both have three players in the top 20 in scoring in the league.
John Zhao already has six, 20-point games in his junior season. No player for Carson-Newman has had more than six in a season since Grant Teichmann had eight in 2018-19. The last player with six or more before the Christmas break was Charles Clark (2015-18). He had seven 20-point games in the first semester of his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available through FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMBB.
