JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A whopping nine games deep into the 2024-25 schedule, Carson-Newman (6-2, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference) will finally play a true road game when it heads to The King Center for a Tuesday matinee at 4 p.m. against Emory & Henry (2-4, 0-2 SAC).
Senior shooting guard Nick Brenegan became the eighth member of the 200 three club at Carson-Newman against King on Saturday. He has 217 triples in his career, and is in the top five in C-N history for career threes made. He needs four more to catch his older brother Luke for fourth on the all-time list, and to prove he is a substantially better shooter than his older brother.
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 53.1 percent shooting, a figure that is eighth nationally. Carson-Newman is fourth in effective field goal percentage at .623. C-N has shot better than 50 percent from the field in its last seven games. The Eagles have scored 100 points in four of its last five games in Holt Fieldhouse dating back to an 84-81 loss to Tusculum on Valentine's Day last year.
Carson-Newman has shot 50 percent from the field in seven straight games - the first time the program has done that since seven consecutive to begin the 2017-18 season. Carson-Newman has never produced eight straight games shooting 50 percent or better from the field under Chuck Benson.
John Zhao has been hyper efficient against Emory & Henry in his career. The Eagles senior forward has shot 72.2 percent from the field and 68.4 percent from three in four career games against E&H. Zhao is 26-of-36 shooting, with a 13-of-19 mark from beyond the arc. He's averaged 16.8 points per game against E&H, nearly half of his career points against the Wasps came in last year's 106-99 OT win in the King Center when he canned 8-of-9 threes and a went for a career-high 38 points.
Jack Browder has been dominant on the glass to start his junior campaign. Browder is fifth in the country in total rebounds with 70. It's helped pave the way for him to tally double-double after double-double. He has four on the year and in two of his last three games. Browder is third in the nation with his quartet of double-doubles. Browder leads the SAC in double-doubles.
Since a late 2023 swoon that saw Carson-Newman win once in 14 games, C-N has been strong at responding to losses. The Eagles haven't dropped back-to-back games since breaking out of a six-game losing streak toward the end of the 2023 season from Jan. 25 - Feb. 15.
Emory & Henry will be looking to snap a 10-game losing streak in SAC games. The Wasps haven't triumphed in a SAC game since a 71-70 win at UVA Wise on Jan. 31, 2024.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Wasps is slated for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
