VIDEO: E&H Highlights Feb. 2023
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (10-3, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) has been absolutely white hot offensive at home.
C-N will look to keep the good times rolling when Emory & Henry (4-10, 1-5 SAC) visits to take on the Eagles in Holt Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Carson-Newman has been on another level offensively at home. C-N has topped triple digits in five of its seven home games. The Eagles average 101.7 points at home, while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three.
However, while the Eagles' offense has been extra crispy, Chuck Benson wants the continued resurgence of the Eagles' defense after limiting Newberry to a season-low 52 points Saturday.
"I am hoping we can replicate our defensive performance from our last game with Newberry," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "That's the first time all season I've been satisfied going home with our defensive performance. To do that against E&H, we'll have to defend the three, contest the drive and rebound at an elite level because they are a great offensive rebounding team. We can't give them seconds and thirds."
Carson-Newman is unbeaten in 15 games against Emory & Henry. The teams met sporadically from 1959-1976 before the series went on hiatus until the Wasps joined the SAC last year. All 15 games in the series Carson-Newman has won by double-digits. Carson-Newman's average margin of victory in the series is 29.33 points per game.
Nick Brenegan's 5.31 made triples per game are the most in the country. He has buried 69 this season. also first nationally among all divisions by pure volume. If he were to maintain this pace, he would break Ish Sanders' single-season record of 99 and become the first Eagle with triple-digit threes in a seaosn. There have been 11 triple-digit three-point seasons in SAC history. He also ranks second nationally and tops in the SAC in percentage at 52.7 percent for the season.
Brenegan has made more threes this season than 34 teams in NCAA Division II. His 69 threes are already tied for the 18th most in a single-season in Carson-Newman basketball history.
Brenegan has buried multiple threes in every game this season, but the Lincoln Memorial contest. He's made a three in 20 straight games dating back to last season. He has made at least three threes in eight of the last nine games.
Brenegan, John Zhao, Jack Browder and Trey Hubbard account for a third of the top 12 in the SAC in scoring. The quartet combines to average 70.8 points per game. They average more points per game than Mars Hill and Newberry do as a team.
Carson-Newman is one of the top rebounding teams in the country. The Eagles have outrebounded every team they have faced with the exception of Tusculum. Carson-Newman is fifth nationally and number one in the league in total rebounds, averaging 42.62 per game. C-N's 11.1 rebounding margin ranks number one in the nation
Emory & Henry has struggled with ball security this season. The Wasps average a league-worst 18.1 turnovers per game. However, generating turnovers is not something C-N is known for. The Eagles force 11.31 a game, second to last in the SAC and 242nd nationally. E&H has given it away more than 20 times on six occasions this year, including a 30 turnover game to start the year against Francis Marion.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Wasps is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage of the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville, Tenn.) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available through FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMbb.
