VIDEO: C-N v. Johnson & Wales Cinematic Highlights
VIDEO: C-N v. Lenoir-Rhyne 2023 Cinematic Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson has his first opportunity to pass C-N Hall of Famer Gene Mehaffey for second on the program's all-time wins list when the Eagles welcome Lenoir-Rhyne (2-1, 0-0 South Atlantic Conference) to Holt Fieldhouse for both teams' conference openers Saturday at 4 p.m.
No. 24 Carson-Newman (4-1, 0-0 SAC) is aiming for its fifth straight win overall and an eighth in-a-row over the Bears.
Benson and Mehaffey both have 242 wins in their careers. Mehaffey was 242-137 from 1967-78 before heading to Ohio Wesleyan. Career win number 243 for Benson moves him past Mehaffey with only his predecessor Dale Clayton (1988-2010) to catch and his 313 all-time wins.
Carson-Newman is clicking into the offensive form in which it spent much of the 2023-24 season. The Eagles have been hyper efficient to begin the year, averaging 53.3 percent shooting, a figure that is 15th nationally. Carson-Newman is 13th in effective field goal percentage at .621. C-N has shot better than 50 percent from the field in all four games on its active winning streak.
The Eagles have won seven consecutive games against Lenoir-Rhyne, the longest streak in series history. C-N has won five straight against the Bears in Holt Fieldhouse.
Lenoir-Rhyne Head Coach Brent Owen, as well as his assistants Cesar Lujan-Flores and Tyrone Grady, are in their first seasons in Hickory. They overhauled L-R's roster with 11 newcomers; eight of the 11 newcomers have previous collegiate experience. All three coaches joined LR after coaching at Eastern New Mexico last season, where they led the Greyhounds to their most wins in 31 years and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2004.
The Bears have been effective and efficient in both their wins, shooting 58.0 percent from the field in a W over Clayton State and 56.5 percent in a 94-88 decision over Emmanuel.
Senior shooting guard Nick Brenegan became the eighth member of the 200 three club at Carson-Newman against King on Saturday. He has 208 triples in his career, and needs one more to pass Braun Dabbs (2001-04) for sole possession of sixth all-time with his 208. Catching Antoine Davis isn't outside the realm of possibility. He is fifth in school history with 213. Brenegan would need his 10th career five-three game to catch Davis against the Bears.
The 1,000-point watch for Carson-Newman's 41st member of the 1K club in C-N history is on. Brenegan sits on 984 career points, 16 away. Carson-Newman's last 1,000-point club member was Nick's older brother Luke, who is on the C-N coaching staff as an assistant. Luke finished his C-N career with 1,115 points. Chuck Benson has coached 10 members of Carson-Newman's 1,000-point club.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bears is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMBB.
