Benson, Carter collide as C-N heads to Mars Hill
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-7, 4-6 South Atlantic Conference) and Mars Hill (9-7, 3-7 SAC) have a coaching tree game for the first time when the two teams play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in Burt Stanford Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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34 | 53 | 87 |
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40 | 41 | 81 |
VIDEO: On Press Row
VIDEO: C-N at Mars Hill Full Broadcast Replay
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-7, 4-6 South Atlantic Conference) and Mars Hill (9-7, 3-7 SAC) have a coaching tree game for the first time when the two teams play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in Burt Stanford Arena.
Mars Hill is under the direction of first year head coach KT Carter. Carter spent six seasons at Carson-Newman with Chuck Benson as the Eagles' associate head coach from 2019-25. This is Benson's first meeting with a member of his coaching tree as a head coach. He was 2-0 against former GA Joe Laravie when he was an assistant at Anderson.
Mars Hill started 6-0 under Carter, the best start in school history. With a 9-7 record, MHU is above .500 past the midpoint of a season for the first time since 2013-14. The Lions are looking for their first winning season since the 2009-10 season.
Fans should keep the Carter family in their prayers. Carter's three-year-old son Ace is likely in need of a heart transplant.
Fans can donate to the family's GoFundMe and learn more of Ace's story here.
Carson-Newman has won four straight against Mars Hill and nine of the last 10. The Eagles' average margin of victory in the nine wins this decade is 17.85 points per game. Carson-Newman has shot better than 50 percent from the field in seven consecutive halves of basketball, dating back to a 44.3 percent effort in the first half of an eventual 99-72 win for C-N at Stanford Arena on Feb. 7, 2024.
Jack Browder enters the contest on 1,741 career points. He is eighth all-time in scoring. The lone player in school history with his jersey retired, Arnold Mellinger is next to catch on the all-time scoring list with 1,826 points. Browder is 85 away from him. Browder is sixth among active NCAA Division II players in career scoring and 27th among all players in all divisions.
With 785 career rebounds, Browder is fourth among active Division II players in career rebounds. Browder, plus Hall of Famers Mike Ogan and Tommy Everette are the only three members of the 1,500/700 club in Carson-Newman history. Browder is the only player in the NCAA era to do that.
Browder is one of three active players in NCAA Division II with 1,700 career points and 700 career rebounds. Carl Cleveland at Young Harris and Dylan Kuehl at Northern Michigan are the only others in NCAA Division II. Browder's 785 rebounds are the fifth-most in school history.
With 34 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 most double-doubles among active NCAA Division II players, tied with Young Harris' Carl Cleveland's 34. He has the eighth-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 and Young Harris' Carl Cleveland are the only players in the country in the top 25 in both scoring and rebounding. Browder is sixth in scoring at 23.0 points per game and seventh in rebounding at 10.4 boards per game.
Tipoff with the Lions is set for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A live look at press row with Adam Cavalier on the microphone is available on YouTube.
Team Stats
Mars Hill
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Mars Hill |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (28-56) | (24-56) |
| Field Goal % | 50.0% | 42.9% |
| Rebounds | 37 | 32 |
| Assists | 15 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 7 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 4 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 30 | 16 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 8 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 6 | 43 |
