Eagles, Pioneers renew rivalry Wednesday night at Mossy Creek
February 16, 2016

Eagles, Pioneers renew rivalry Wednesday night at Mossy Creek

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (14-10, 10-8 South Atlantic Conference) and Tusculum (10-13, 6-12 SAC) get together for the 109th time on the hardwood Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse at 8.

C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (14-10, 10-8 South Atlantic Conference) and Tusculum (10-13, 6-12 SAC) get together for the 109th time on the hardwood Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse at 8. 

The Eagles lead the all-time series 79-29, but the balance has been toward Tusculum, with the Pioneers winning 17 of the last 28 meetings.  C-N, however, has won six of the past eight.

Over the 108 previous meetings, Carson-Newman has an 11.25-point average margin of victory over Tusculum. When C-N won 28 straight meetings in the series from 1965-1978, the Eagles average margin of victory was 21.89 points.

Sweeps have been hard to come by for Carson-Newman in its rivalry with Tusculum. In a game where one can throw out the records, the Eagles have only swept the Pioneers once with Chuck Benson as head coach.

"In the most simplistic of terms, we need to be efficient offensively and make baskets," head coach Chuck Benson said. "Then defensively, we've got to get initial stops and limit second and third opportunities. That's it in a nutshell. Get stops, make shots."

The Eagles won by 30 at home, 73-43 after taking a 67-56 decision in Greenville earlier during the 2012-13 season.

Tusculum scored its first ever victory over a top-10 team earlier this season when it down then No. 7 King 99-94. The Pioneers trailed by 21 in the second half before a 25-5 rally put TC in front.

Carson-Newman bested Tusculum in the first meeting this season thanks to the Pioneers' second worst shooting performance of the year. TC was 4-of-22 from beyond the arc and shot 34.3 percent from the field.

"They have multiple threats," Benson said. "You've got load inside to defend in Chase Mounce.  Then they've got several on the perimeter who can make shots. We have to limit clean looks and touches for their inside-out game."

The Pioneers don't create a lot of defensive havoc, they are last in the league in steals and blocked shots per game.

Darius Carter leads Tusculum with 17.4 points per game.  Carter has scored double digits in every game this season for Tusculum. 

"He's a good versatile player," Benson said. "He can beat you with the long ball, but he's also an accomplish driver and he gets to the free throw line a lot. You have to contain him and keep him in front because he's such a complete player."

Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has continued to make arguments that he belongs among the nation's elite.  Clark has scored double digits in 29 consecutive games and is coming off a 23-point performance against Lenoir-Rhyne, the 16th, 20-point game of his sophomore season and the 24th of his career.  Clark is coming off the first back-to-back five assist performances in his career.

Clark leads the South Atlantic Conference in scoring  with 22 points per game.  He dropped 25 on the Pioneers in the first meeting this season on 9-of-14 shooting. 

Tipoff between the Eagles and Pioneers is set for 8 p.m.  Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:45 with the AEC Countdown To Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

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