C-N set to pop cork on SAC play at Limestone
December 6, 2022

C-N set to pop cork on SAC play at Limestone

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (5-2, 0-0 South Atlantic Conference) cranks open SAC and Mountain Division play Wednesday night at 7:30 with a jaunt over to Gaffney, S.C. to take on Limestone (3-4, 1-0 SAC) inside the Timken Center. 

C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (5-2, 0-0 South Atlantic Conference) cranks open SAC and Mountain Division play Wednesday night at 7:30 with a jaunt over to Gaffney, S.C. to take on Limestone (3-4, 1-0 SAC) inside the Timken Center. 

The Saints have won back-to-back road games and return home for the first time since Nov. 23 and an 86-62 loss to USC Aiken.   

"I think they will come into this game with a ton of excitement and determination after winning back-to-back road games," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We expect their best especially when you consider that they have four kids who played a lot last year against us as starters. We expect their best."

Carson-Newman is trying for a sixth-consecutive road victory. The Eagles own the country's 10th-longest active road winning streak. Carson-Newman hasn't dropped a true road game away from Holt Fieldhouse since Feb. 5, 2022 when it lost at Queens 74-50. Carson-Newman hasn't won six straight true road games since 2002-03 when the Eagles won eight in-a-row spanning the run to the Sweet 16 in 2002 and the start of the 2002-03 season. That streak is the only streak longer than five games this century.

The Eagles rebounding has been off the charts good to start 2022. C-N has produced a double-digit rebounding margin in four of its last five games and has been outrebounded once (by Clayton State). Carson-Newman is 14th nationally and leads the SAC in rebounds. The Eagles are eighth nationally in rebound margin.

"We keep emphasizing and showing the value in rebounding," Benson said. "It also helps when you have the leadership displaying it in Ren Dyer.  We just have to keep on keeping on on the boards."

Ren Dyer's four double-doubles this season rank fifth in the country. Dyer has 11 double-doubles for his career. He has passed Charles Clark's 10 career double-doubles and is eight away from matching Shaun Jones' record of 19.

Bryant Thomas is once again atop the SAC standings for blocked shots. Thomas has posted at least three blocks in three games for C-N. That includes a season-high four in Carson-Newman's contest Saturday against Erskine. He is averaging 2.0 blocks per game and sits on 145 career blocks in his time at Carson-Newman - the school's program record for a career. Thomas ranks 20th nationally in blocks per game. He has tallied multiple rejections in three straight games and in five of C-N's first seven games this season.

Limestone head coach Kyle Perry is a familiar face. Perry helped Carson-Newman to a South Atlantic Conference championship in his first season as an assistant during the 2002-03 season. He was Dale Clayton's associate head coach in his fourth and final year on the banks of Mossy Creek. Perry is 1-2 coaching against his old school, with a 1-0 record inside the Timken Center.

Limestone post Richard Nunez is the reigning SAC Player of the Week. Nunez led the Saints to a pair of wins, including a 102-98 overtime SAC win over Emory & Henry last week. He averaged 18.5 points, 8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game for the week. He recorded a team-high 26 points in the win over Emory & Henry with six rebounds, a steal, an assist, and two blocks.

"We have to disallow good position on the interior," Benson said. "He's a big body with experience and should have all the confidence in the world. We have to be determined to make life difficult."

Tipoff between the Eagles and Saints is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts 15 minutes prior to gametime with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live

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