Rivalry Wednesday night on deck for Eagles, No. 3 Railsplitters
January 31, 2023

Rivalry Wednesday night on deck for Eagles, No. 3 Railsplitters

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (11-9, 5-5 South Atlantic Conference) will challenge a top-10 team in the 217th iteration of its rivalry with Lincoln Memorial (20-2, 10-1 SAC) when the third-ranked Railsplitters arrive in Holt Fieldhouse for a 7:30 p.m. tip Wednesday night. 

C-N Game Notes 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (11-9, 5-5 South Atlantic Conference) will challenge a top-10 team in the 217th iteration of its rivalry with Lincoln Memorial (20-2, 10-1 SAC) when the third-ranked Railsplitters arrive in Holt Fieldhouse for a 7:30 p.m. tip Wednesday night. 

LMU is angling for the season sweep after scoring an 84-76 win over the Eagles in Harrogate on Jan. 7. 

Carson-Newman will try to put the month of January in the rearview mirror. After starting the season 10-2 (tied for the best start by a Carson-Newman team under Chuck Benson), the Eagles suffered through their worst month of basketball under Benson (1-6).

Carson-Newman shot 48.3 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three en route to averaging 81.9 points per game in December.

In January, those numbers plummeted to 39.9 percent from the field, 30.6 percent from three and 63.0 points per game.

Carson-Newman has six wins against top-10 teams under head coach Chuck Benson. Two of those have come against Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate (2013 and 2016 when the 'Splitters were ranked seventh and sixth, respectively). The Eagles picked up a 78-66 win over LMU in the semifinals of the SAC championships last year when the Railsplitters were ranked seventh.

Lincoln Memorial boasts both the South Atlantic Conference's most efficient offense (52.5 FG%) but also its stingiest defense (39.3 FG% allowed). The Railsplitters are the only team in the country in the top 10 nationally in both offensive and defensive field goal efficiency. LMU has nine games this season where it has shot 55 percent from the field or better and seven teams under 35 percent shooting defensively.

Chuck Benson is 1-2 against former LMU head coach Josh Schertz disciples this season, with a win over Emory & Henry and Ben Thompson, but losses to Lander's Omar Wattad and Lincoln Memorial's Jeremiah Samarippas.

Bryant Thomas is the ultimate shot-stopper. Carson-Newman's single-game, single-season and career record-holder for blocks now sits on 172. He has the fourth most blocked shots among active players in NCAA Division II. Thomas leads the league this season with 2.1 rejections per game and is top 15 in the country in blocks per game in that regard.

Thomas can start moving up the SAC record book for rejections. Five rejections will move him into the top-10 all-time in SAC history with Chris Wooddridge (Catawba, 2003-07). Jeff Parker (Wingate 2010-14) sits in ninth on the league's all-time list with 181.

With 1,013 career points, senior guard Luke Brenegan will look to begin moving up the program's all-time scoring list. His fifth-career 20-point game would put him past Allen Swader (1013), and Ishmail Simmons (1027) and into 37th place on the all-time scoring charts.

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

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