Rivalry Wednesday night on deck, C-N heads to Tusculum for Battle for 11E
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (6-1, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) makes the 54-minute jaunt east to Greeneville for a rivalry matchup with Tusculum (4-4, 1-2 SAC) Wednesday night at 7:30 from Pioneer Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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47 | 53 | 100 |
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41 | 32 | 73 |
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (6-1, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) makes the 54-minute jaunt east to Greeneville for a rivalry matchup with Tusculum (4-4, 1-2 SAC) Wednesday night at 7:30 from Pioneer Arena.
"It's going to be so challenging," head coach Chuck Benson said. "I already know what to expect with this game. Both teams are very much in similar situations trying to figure themselves out. You just know in this particular game, Tusculum is going to play at a high level. We're going to get their best punch, and we know it's going to be challenging."
Carson-Newman leads the all-time series 88-39 headed into the 128th all-time meeting.
The contests with Tusculum have been tight of late. Of the last 11 meetings, only two have been decided by more than 10. Seven of the 11 have been decided by four points or fewer. Tusculum is 7-4 against Carson-Newman in this stretch. Carson-Newman nearly overcame an eight-point deficit with 5:55 to go in last year's 90-88 OT loss at TU, while Tusculum nearly came back from down 16 in a 95-91 loss to C-N in Holt Fieldhouse last year.
Carson-Newman has held three of its first six foes faced below 36 percent shooting. C-N's 39.5 field goal percentage defense is 28th nationally and second in the SAC. C-N didn't hold anyone below 36 percent shooting last year. C-N hasn't had this string of defensive efforts since the 2022-23 season, the last time they held three teams below 36 percent shooting in a six-game stretch. Only North Georgia (C-N's only loss) has shot better than 45 percent from the field against C-N. C-N has the league's third-best scoring defense – allowing 69.8 points per game – and second-best field goal efficiency defense – allowing 39.5 percent shooting.
The Pioneers are playing their third game in five days after an 85-74 loss to Wingate Saturday and a 78-62 exhibition loss to East Tennessee State Sunday.
Outside of a last-second win over Coker on Nov. 29 featuring a Denaj Kimber game-winning jumper, Tusculum's games have been defined by blowouts this year. Tusculum's four wins have been by an average margin of 24.5 points, while the Pioneers' four losses have come by 17.25 points on average.
Jack Browder enters the contest on 1,500 career points. He is 13th all-time in scoring, and, if you follow numbers, the program's 13th all-time 1,500-point scorer. A 36th career 20-point game, a 26-point night to be exact, would move him into 12th on the all-time list and even with Antoine Davis From there, it's aways to go before catching Antoine Davis and his 1,526 points. Browder is ninth among active NCAA Division II players in career scoring and 43rd among all players in all divisions.
With 673 career rebounds, Browder is fifth among active Division II players in career rebounds. With 1,500 career points, he has joined Mike Ogan, Tommy Everette, Charles Clark, Sawyer Williams and Antoine Davis as the sixth player in school history with 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds. When he gets to 700 career rebounds, it will be Browder, Ogan and Everette as the only players in school history as members of that club. Browder is looking to become the sixth player in school history with 700 career boards.
With 28 career double-doubles, Browder already has career mark for Carson-Newman for all-time double-doubles (at least in the NCAA era where we have game-by-game stats). He has the second-most double-doubles among active NCAA Division II players, behind Young Harris' Carl Cleveland's 29. He has the 15th-most double-doubles amongst players in all divisions.
Browder is the only player in NCAA Division II to lead his league in scoring and rebounding. Browder, Frostburg State's Mike Montano (29.0 ppg - 1st, 12.0 rpg - 3rd) and Queens' Tahj-Malik Campbell (22.1 ppg - 15th, 9.7 rpg - 20th) are the only players in the top 25 nationally for both scoring and rebounding. Browder is 24th in scoring at 21.2 points per game and sixth in rebounding at 10.8 boards per game.
Tipoff with Tusculum is set for 7:30 p.m. Pregame coverage om the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. Fans can also join a feed from "On Press Row" of the game on YouTube.
Team Stats
Tusculum
| Game Statistics | RV Carson-Newman | Tusculum |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (40-62) | (28-70) |
| Field Goal % | 64.5% | 40.0% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 27 |
| Assists | 22 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 8 | 7 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 10 | 14 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 17 | 16 |
| Pts in the Paint | 58 | 32 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 7 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 34 |
