November 16, 2012

Eagles return to the court at Pioneer Classic

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman’s (1-0) men’s hoops team stays on the road for a pair of neutral site contests Friday and Saturday in Greeneville, Tenn., at the Pioneer Classic. The Eagles tangle with Columbus State (2-0) Friday at 6 p.m. and Knoxville College Saturday afternoon at 2.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman's (1-0) men's hoops team stays on the road for a pair of neutral site contests Friday and Saturday in Greeneville, Tenn., at the Pioneer Classic.

The Eagles tangle with Columbus State (2-0) Friday at 6 p.m. and Knoxville College Saturday afternoon at 2.

"This is going to be a really tough challenge," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Columbus State will be tougher than the Lees-McRae game. Hopefully our preseason exhibition games and our road win at LMC will help us to be as sharp and crisp as we need to be to give us a chance to win."

Carson-Newman got its first double-double of the year from O'Dell Parker (Knoxville, Tenn.) after the junior collected 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Bobcats. Junior Antoine Davis (Rustburg, Va.) fired in 21. The Parker and Davis were the only two players in double figures for the Eagles opener.

Columbus State has poured in buckets of points, winning 84-49 over Brevard and 87-84 against Fort Valley State to start the season. CSU has four players who average double figures and three more that score eight or more a game.

The Cougars are led by senior guard and reigning Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week Winford Ivey, who is averaging 16.5 points/game and 6.5 assists/game through the Cougars first two contests.

While the Cougars have scorers, they don't have height with only two players on the roster taller than 6-5, but Benson said that won't factor into the equation. "What they are is athletic," Benson said. "They move very well and because of their defensive package, they have an advantage. Speed and quickness kills. We want to know if our guys can handle the intensity that Columbus State is going to bring."

The Eagles face a quick turnaround for Saturday's game against the Bulldogs. Knoxville is led by Marcus Smith. The sophomore guard put down 13 points in a 92-49 loss to Shorter. Desmond Johnson ripped down 11 rebounds in the game with the Hawks.

"We don't really know a lot about Knoxville right now," Benson said. "I'm thankful that we play them on Saturday. We'll have a good shot to scout them Friday night after our game."

Both games will be broadcast on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network on 106.3 ESPN Radio The Zone (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com. The pregame show started 15 minutes prior to game time with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff

-CN-

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