College players of the week named by TSWA - Jan. 9

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In one of the most outstanding scoring performances in NCAA Division II history, it was Nick Brenegan 64, Newberry 51 this past Saturday as the Carson-Newman junior guard set numerous records – NCAA, conference and program – hitting 18 3-pointers in the Eagle victory. 

For his efforts, Brenegan was named the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Player of the Week in Men’s Basketball for the week of Jan. 1-7. 

Brenegan repeated for the award as he hit 12 treys against Tennessee Wesleyan, but that was just the warm-up. Against Newberry, the Greenville, S.C., native went 18-for-27 from 3-point range to outscore Carson-Newman’s opponent by himself. 

The 18 3-pointers made is an NCAA Division II record – and would surpass the Division I record as well with Keith Veney (Marshall, 1996), Josh Wiliams (Robert Morris, 2018) and Jordan Lyons (Furman, 2018) knocking down 15 on the top tier. 

Brenegan scored 43 points in the second half alone, setting a C-N record for points in a half. The 64 total points surpassed C-N’s Charles Clark’s single-game scoring record, which was set in 2017 with 54 points against Coker. It is the fifth 60-point scoring night in Division II since 1975 and the 15th if you include Division I. It is the 15th highest scoring night in Division II history. 

Inside that run, Brenegan also tied the Division II record for consecutive 3-pointers made with 10. 

For the week, Brenegan averaged 35.5 points and three rebounds. 

On the women’s side, Tennessee graduate forward Rickea Jackson led the Lady Vols to a 2-0 record this past week, averaging 25.5 points and 13.0 rebounds. In a 75-67 road win at Auburn, Jackson scored 24 points and pulled down 19 rebounds, shooting 8-for-17 from the field. 

She followed that up with a 27-point showing against Kentucky as the Lady Vols caged Kentucky 87-69. Jackson went 11-for-18 from the field as she also had seven rebounds and three assists. 

For the season, Jackson is averaging 21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. 

MEN’S BASKETBALL
11/14 | Jack Browder (Carson-Newman)
11/21 | Mikhail Pocknett (King)
11/28 | Jordan Sears (UT Martin)
12/5 | Reed Kemp (Maryville)
12/12 | Jalen Page (Trevecca)
12/19 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
1/3 | Nick Brenegan (Carson-Newman)
1/9 | Nick Brenegan (Carson-Newman) 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
11/14 | Kendal Cheesman (Belmont)
11/21 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
11/28 | Jordyn Cambridge (Vanderbilt)
12/5 | Sacha Washington (Vanderbilt)
12/12 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
12/19 | Jada Guinn (Chattanooga)
1/3 | Faith Wilken (Trevecca)
1/9 | Rickea Jackson (Tennessee)