NCAA tournament participant Lander awaits C-N in Greenwood
November 24, 2023

NCAA tournament participant Lander awaits C-N in Greenwood

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-0) gets the first of three cracks against a team that made last years NCAA tournament when it travels to Finis Horne Arena to take on Lander (3-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. 

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C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (3-0) gets the first of three cracks against a team that made last years NCAA tournament when it travels to Finis Horne Arena to take on Lander (3-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. 

The Bearcats were the six seed in last year's NCAA tournament, bowing out in the opening round to Lincoln Memorial 76-63. 

"We were glad to celebrate Thanksgiving together as a team," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "This though is a very strong challenge. They are very capable on both sides of the ball and we no doubt will have our hands full with them." 

This is Carson-Newman's first visit to Finis Horne Arena since Nov. 12, 2016. All five starters finished in double figures that day as C-N rallied from a four-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Bearcats 50-33 after halftime en route to an 88-75 win. Cam Holmes paced C-N with a career-high 19 points, making 5-of-6 threes. Shaun Jones and Sawyer Williams both had double-doubles.

The home team has never won a game in the series. The Bearcats are 2-0 inside Holt Fieldhouse. The Eagles are 1-0 inside Horne Arena. The other two meetings were at neutral venues as a part of a Conference Challenge.

Last year, Lander canned a season-high 19 threes and became the first team to crest 90 on Carson-Newman in three years as the Bearcats took a crazy 94-85 win over the Eagles. The Bearcats nailed seven straight shots, including six consecutive from long range while Carson-Newman went four minutes without a bucket. The 19 threes are the most allowed by a Chuck Benson-coached team.

Carson-Newman is off to its first 3-0 start in five years. The Eagles were 3-0 to kickoff the 2018-19 season en route to a 5-0 start. That year, the Eagles collected wins over Southern Wesleyan, Lander, Lees-McRae, King and Tennessee Wesleyan before dropping a game to Lincoln Memorial at Tex Turner Arena.

Carson-Newman has won six straight games dating back to the 2022-23 season. As a result, the Eagles' six-game win streak registers as the third-longest active win streak in the country behind defending national champion Nova Southeastern's 39-game win streak. The Eagles are a game back of the University of Alaska Anchorage for the second-longest streak,

Since moving into a starting role last year, Nick Brenegan has produced ninr consecutive double-digit scoring days - a career-long mark. Since moving into a starting role, Brenegan is averaging 17.0 points per game on a 47.1/44.2/85.7 slash line. He has made a three in 10 consecutive games and is averaging three made threes per game during that stretch.

In spite of losing starting center Bryant Thomas, Carson-Newman picked up where it left off last year rebounding the ball. C-N had a double-digit rebounding margin Lees-McRae, King and Southern Wesleyan. C-N's an average of +15 on the glass, the fifth-best rebounding margin in the country and the best in the South Atlantic Conference. It's the third time this century Carson-Newman has outrebounded three straight teams by double-digits.

Tipoff between the Eagles and Bearcats is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

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