Eagles Begin Non-Conference Stretch Run Saturday at Anderson

Dec. 12, 2008

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman men's basketball team travels to Anderson University (S.C.) on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off. The game is the first of three C-N will play over a five-day stretch.

Carson-Newman enters its pre-Christmas break gauntlet on the strength of an 81-72 win over Lincoln Memorial in Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday night. The victory put the Eagles at the .500 mark on the year, 4-4, but more importantly gave them a fresh 1-0 start in South Atlantic Conference play. Anderson is 2-3 on the year but hasn't been in action since a 79-62 win over Limestone on December 2. One of the Trojans' victories this year came against a SAC opponent - they defeated Tusculum 71-57 in their season opener.

C-N will try to avenge a pair of early season home defeats next week, when it travels to King College (Tenn.) and the University of Alabama-Huntsville. The Eagles lost to King. 126-119, and UAH, 98-94, in November. This time around, the Eagles will look a little different to both opponents.

"This week will be a great test for our guys," Eagle head coach Dale Clayton said. "It'll test our stamina and depth. We'll learn some things about ourselves, and I'm excited to see us take shape with everyone now available."

Senior Bobby Guyton, a preseason All-SAC selection at forward, will join the team beginning Saturday. Guyton, who has only semester of eligibility remaining, averaged 10 points and 5.9 boards in his injury-shortened junior season. The Jessup, Ga. native had 32 points and 23 rebounds in his final two games of the year, wins over Catawba and at Newberry, before suffering a foot injury.

"Bobby will give us a proven, experienced, player," Clayton said. "He's one of our best rebounders and scorers, and I think gives us the top three-man rotation in the league I the post."

Sophomore Cameron Sharpe, an All-Freshman Team selection a year ago, saw his first action of the season in the LMU win. The Knox. Halls product played 18 minutes, stuffing his line score with five points, three boards, three steals, and an assists.

"Cameron's play was impressive," Clayton said of Sharpe's effort against the Railsplitters. "Not many people can practice one day and give you that kind of effort. He was a big difference in the game."

Carson-Newman leads the SAC in scoring with 99.3 points per game, but also ranks last in the league in defense, giving up 94.0 ppg. Joey Cameron is the top scorer for the Eagles at 16.7 points per game, followed by Andrew Johnson (12.0), Jesse McMurray (11.5) and Jordan Dixon (10.5).

Monday night's game at King will tipoff at 7 p.m., while the Eagles' game at UAH on Wednesday is an 8 p.m. tipoff.

Radio: Saturday's game at Anderson and Monday's game at King can be heard on WMTN-AM 1300 (Morristown, Tenn.). Zeke Beam will have the live play-by-play. Games can also be heard at www.carsonnewmaneagles.com by following the "Listen Live" link, or by visiting http://www.wmtnradio.com/ .

-C-N-