Carson-Newman College Men's Basketball

Benson, a 1991 graduate of C-N, spent four seasons as associate head coach of the Eagles before being named head coach. The Newport, Tenn.-native has added a slew of national advisory experience.  Beginning in 2015-16, Benson began serving as a member of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Advisory Committee, which selects the eight teams that make the NCAA tournament from the Southeast Region.  He is also a national voter on the NABC poll.   The 2015-16 season saw Carson-Newman put together a fifth straight winning season, something that has never happened in the Eagles' NCAA Division II era.  Charles Clark earned first team All-SAC and all-region honors on the year for C-N.   Carson-Newman led the entire nation, NBA, NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III in field goal percentage.  C-N hit 52.2 percent from the field for the year.   Year five was unprecedented for Benson.  The Eagles' head man guided Carson-Newman to its first back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances on the strength of the Eagles' first SAC tournament title run since 2001-02.   Along the way, Carson-Newman crushed Lincoln Memorial on two occasions. One, when the then-top-ranked Railsplitters were riding a 20-game win streak, the Eagles handed LMU its first loss of the season on the Railsplitters' home court with a 77-62 victory.  Then again, Carson-Newman lambasted LMU 63-48 in the SAC title game when the Railsplitters were ranked number three in the country. In the SAC title game, the Railsplitters' 48 points were the fewest allowed in SAC title game history while the Eagles' +20 rebounding margin was the second largest in title game history.   Carson Brooks became the third Eagle under Benson to earn all-region honors while Charles Clark became the first C-N player to earn All-Freshman team honors from the SAC since 2010-11.   In his fourth season at the Creek, Benson took Carson-Newman back to the promised land.  The Eagles went to their first NCAA tournament in 12 years and their first in program history by virtue of an at-large bid.  Utilizing a suffocating zone defense, the Eagles took home victories over a top 10 Lincoln Memorial club and had wins over teams from Anderson, Wingate and Barton who all received votes in the NABC top 25 at various points during the season. The Eagles spent five weeks ranked in the NCAA Division II top 25 during the 2013-14 season, the most for Carson-Newman in the program's history in Division II.  In fact, Carson-Newman has been ranked in the NABC top 25 just five weeks total outside of the 2013-14 season.  C-N was led by all-region performers Antoine Davis and Ish Sanders who both finished in the top 10 in scoring in program history.  Davis concluded his career with 1,526 and Sanders with 1,922 points.  Sanders is the program and conference's leader all-time leader in made threes with 343 treys.  Benson also hit a personal milestone, collecting his 200th career victory with a win over Anderson.  Benson has coached six individuals who have earned either preseason or postseason All-America accolades.  Davis and Sanders earned such honors at Carson-Newman; Ed Perkins, Desmond Allison, Johnny Goodman and Marcus McNair picked up the accolades for Benson at Martin Methodist.  In 2012-13, Benson earned SAC coach of the year honors   The 2012-13 campaign was one of many firsts for Benson.  The Eagles had their longest win streak to start a season (five games) since the 1997-1998 season.  It was tied for the third best start in school history.   Benson also helped coach two remarkable seasons by C-N stars Antoine Davis and Ish Sanders.  Davis earned SAC player of the year honors as well as All-America honors from D-II Bulletin.  Davis lead the South Atlantic Conference in scoring (19.0 points per game) and made field goals (170).  A two-time South Atlantic Conference player of the week award winner, Davis became the first C-N player since 2003-2004 with multiple 30-point games in a single season. Davis and Sanders were both preseason and postseason first team All-SAC selections.  A SAC Player of the Week award winner, Sanders turned in four consecutive 25-point performances, the longest such streak at Carson-Newman this century. He was one of three SAC players with consecutive 25-point performances, but the only player who has gone beyond two. Sanders set a season high with 33 points in a home win against then league-leading Anderson. The shooting guard went 11-for-22 from the field and 9-for-18 from three in that game. It was the fourth most threes in a single game in SAC history. In that contest, Sanders set Carson-Newmans single season record for three pointers made - the previous record was 86, Sanders finished the year with 99.   In year two for Benson, the Eagles finished 15-14 overall and 8-10 in the SAC. The 2011-2012 campaigned was highlighted by a sweep of archrival and nationally ranked Lincoln Memorial.  Benson's Eagles knocked the fifth-ranked Railsplitters down on the road 64-61 - ending a 30-game home winning streak for LMU - on Jan. 25 before coming back to Holt Fieldhouse and turning the trick again with a 77-69 victory on senior day.  The Eagles also ended a near decade long home losing streak to Tusculum, beating the Pioneers 78-64 before nearly 900 fans at Holt Fieldhouse.   Under Benson's tutelage, sophomore stars Antoine Davis and Ish Sanders each finished the year as second team All-SAC performers. Sanders locked down a SAC Player of the Week honor for the week of Dec. 12 after leading the Eagles to wins over Tennessee Wesleyan and Lees-McRae. Sanders averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting an efficient 50-percent from the field. He also had an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 3-to-1. Davis and Sanders both finished their junior seasons with 487 points each.  Benson's Eagles finished the year ranked in the top 30 nationally in three pointers made per game with 8.2, while Sanders ranked 34th in the nation and third in the SAC for the stat.  The Eagles also took care of the ball, while forcing turnovers as well.  Carson-Newman ranked second in the SAC in turnover margin for Benson's second year.   The Eagles came on strong at the end of Benson's first season in 2010-11. After entering Christmas break with a 3-7 record, C-N turned things around to go 8-8 down the stretch, including five straight road wins. The Eagles turned heads by finishing the regular season in a tie for fourth in the conference standings with an 8-10 mark after being picked ninth in the preseason poll. C-N's season came to an end with a first round loss to No. 13 Lincoln Memorial in the South Atlantic Conference tournament, finishing the year at 11-16 overall. C-N turned in several memorable moments during Benson's first year at the helm. The Eagles claimed quality road wins at Anderson, an Elite Eight participant, and Brevard, the defending conference champion. The Eagles also defeated rival Maryville College for the first time since 2006. Freshman guard Ishmael Sanders thrived leading the team in scoring as he set a conference record with 51 points against Mars Hill and broke a school record by making 11 3-pointers against the Lions. Guard Bradley Tumer also broke the conference's single game record for assists with 19 against Newberry. Sanders and guard Antonio Sullivan each earned SAC Player of the Week honors, while Sanders was named to the SAC All-Freshman team. As a team, the Eagles proved to be one of the top defensive squads in the SAC as they finished the year as the league leader in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.322) and third in field goal percentage defense (.428). Academically at Carson-Newman, Benson has seen 88 percent of players who have played out their eligibility graduate and get a degree in five years or less.  Benson's two-decade career in the collegiate ranks extends much further than Mossy Creek, including five seasons in the Southeastern Conference at the University of Tennessee, as well as building Martin Methodist College into a national contender in his seven seasons as head coach at the NAIA Division I institution. Prior to joining the Carson-Newman staff in 2006, Benson was an assistant at Tennessee from 2003-05 after Vols head coach Buzz Peterson hired him to help bolster recruiting efforts. Tennessee earned a National Invitational Tournament bid for the 2003-04 season. Benson joined Bobby Lutz' staff at UNC-Charlotte for the 2005-06 season. The 49ers were in the preseason Top 25 and earned an NIT bid during his one season as an assistant. In April of 2006, Benson accepted a position at UNC-Wilmington and served as an assistant there until he received the call from Eagles head coach Dale Clayton in August of 2006 with the opportunity to come back to Carson-Newman. Benson brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Eagles, including a seven-year stint (1996-2003) as head coach at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn. The RedHawks were a part of a strong Transouth Athletic Conference, which included three schools (Belmont, Birmingham Southern and Lipscomb) that would eventually become NCAA Division I programs. During his time in Pulaski, Benson led the RedHawks program to unprecedented heights, compiling a 137-95 record. Martin Methodist averaged 20 wins a year over his last six seasons and was listed in the NAIA national rankings for 40 weeks from 1999-2003, including a No. 4 ranking in December of 2002. Benson guided the RedHawks to three consecutive NAIA National Tournament berths from 2001-03, including back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16 in 2001 and 2002. Four Martin Methodist players earned NAIA All-America honors during Benson's tenure, which was a first for the small rural institution with less than 500 students enrolled. Off the floor, 16 men's basketball players graduated from Martin Methodist with Benson at the helm. He also implemented the NAIA's "Champions of Character" initiative as a way to emphasize character both on and off the court to his student-athletes. Aware of his responsibility to the institution as a whole, Benson served on one SACS accreditation committee and was a member of the Vice President for Academic Affairs selection committee. Prior to his start in the collegiate ranks, Benson created the Tennessee Travelers summer basketball program in 1987 and coached within the organization during his college years. Benson spent the 1990-91 season as the head boys' basketball coach at Morristown Covenant Academy in Morristown, Tenn. The team advanced to the championship game in the TANAS State Tournament while compiling an 18-10 overall record. Starting in the fall of 1991, Benson spent time on staff at Lincoln Memorial University (1991-92), Carson-Newman (1992-93), and Tennessee (1993-96). While at Tennessee, Benson was a part of a National Invitational Tournament appearance (1995-96) and helped produce two top 20 recruiting classes. A native of Newport, Tenn., Benson graduated from Cocke County High School in 1987 and earned a B.A. degree in History from Carson-Newman in 1991. He earned a Master's degree in Educational Curriculum and Instruction from Lincoln Memorial University in 1996. Benson and his wife Tabbatha reside in Jefferson City. They have one daughter, Abby and two sons, Jake and Cooper.  Year School Position Record Postseason 89-90 Carson-Newman Student Manager     90-91 Morristown Covenant Academy Head Coach     91-92 Lincoln Memorial Graduate Assistant     92-93 Carson-Newman Assistant Coach     93-94 University of Tennessee Assistant Coach     94-95 University of Tennessee Assistant Coach     95-96 University of Tennessee Assistant Coach   NIT 96-97 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 12-22   97-98 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 15-18   98-99 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 18-15   99-00 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 23-11   00-01 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 23-10 NAIA Sweet 16 01-02 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 25-9 NAIA Sweet 16 02-03 Martin Methodist College Head Coach 21-10 NAIA National Tournament 03-04 University of Tennessee Assistant Coach   NIT 04-05 University of Tennessee Assistant Coach     05-06 UNC Charlotte Assistant Coach   NIT 06 UNC Wilmington Assistant Coach     06-07 Carson-Newman Associate Head Coach     07-08 Carson-Newman Associate Head Coach     08-09 Carson-Newman Associate Head Coach     09-10 Carson-Newman Associate Head Coach     10-11 Carson-Newman Head Coach 11-16 (8-10 SAC)   11-12 Carson-Newman Head Coach 15-14 (8-10 SAC)   12-13 Carson-Newman Head Coach 20-8 (12-6 SAC)   13-14 Carson-Newman Head Coach 19-9 (16-6 SAC) NCAA Tournament 14-15 Carson-Newman Head Coach 18-14 (13-9 SAC) SAC Tournament Champs NCAA Tournament 15-16 Carson-Newman Head Coach 16-13 (12-10 SAC)   TOTALS     236-169 (14 years) (69-51 SAC)