Carson-Newman, Clayton State collide in non-conference clash
December 1, 2023

Carson-Newman, Clayton State collide in non-conference clash

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (4-1) will look to finish the pre-Christmas portion of its Division II non-conference slate on a positive note when Clayton State (2-3) comes to Jefferson City for a 1 p.m. tip Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse. 

C-N Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (4-1) will look to finish the pre-Christmas portion of its Division II non-conference slate on a positive note when Clayton State (2-3) comes to Jefferson City for a 1 p.m. tip Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse. 

Carson-Newman  and Clayton State are tied 2-2 in the all-time series.  The Eagles won the lone meeting in Holt Fieldhouse in 2015. 

"Clayton went and revamped their roster," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Coach Vince Alexander has always had a reputation of being a defensive-minded coach. In preparing for this game, I've been really impressed in their overall halfcourt defense, how they can even extend out into the full court, and force action with their d."

Clayton State has been exceptional at blocking shots this year. The Lakers are fifth nationally with 6.0 blocks per game. Stunningly, no one Laker ranks in the top five in the Peach Belt in blocks nor in the top 100 nationally. Clayton State has multiple blocks in every game this season and a pair of nine-block games to its credit against Miles and Morehouse.

Carson-Newman has crested the century mark in three of its first five games. This has led to the Eagles averaging 93.2 points per game - 11th nationally and second in the SAC. Carson-Newman has crested triple digits 36 times under head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson and 198 times all-time. Carson-Newman also had three, 100-point outings last year. However, they were far more spread out. One needs to go back to the 2017-18 season to find three. 100-point games in a five-game stretch. That year, the Eagles had eight, 100-point games.

Nick Brenegan has scored in double digits in 11 consecutive games. He is the only Eagle with a double-digit scoring effort in every game this year for C-N. Brenegan is averaging 16.5 points per game in his 16 career starts.

Brenegan's 3.6 made triples per game are the third most in the SAC and 13th nationally. He also ranks 35th nationally and sixth in the SAC in percentage at 50 percent for the season. Brenegan has buried multiple threes in every game this season. He's made a three in 12 straight games dating back to last season.

John Zhao leads the country in three-point field goal percentage. The junior is making a staggering 76.5 percent of his threes. While he went 0-for-1 from deep against King in game two, and 1-for-1 against Lander in game four, Zhao has made a minimum of three threes in the rest of the Eagles' games. He is making 2.6 per game, to rank 10th in the SAC.

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 average of +13.4 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. The Eagles were +8 on the glass against Lander. Carson-Newman has outrebounded four of its first five opponents by double digits. Last year, Clayton State was the first team to win the rebounding battle against C-N.

Tipoff between the Eagles and Lakers is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 12:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3  (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.  A video stream is available through FloSports at cneagles.com/flombb. 

 

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