JEFFERSON CITY- The Carson-Newman Eagles hosted Bluefield College in the final men's basketball game before the Christmas break Saturday afternoon at Holt Field House. The Eagles probably thought Santa came a little early because the only way to describe Carson-Newman's three-point shooting in the first half was gifted.
The Eagles started hitting three's early in the contest and didn't stop as C-N had 11 three's in the first 20 minutes of the contest and finished with 13. That was enough to give the home team a 99-80 win over Bluefield and improve the Eagles' record to 8-4 on the season. The Rams fall to 8-8.
C-N used a balanced attack as 11 different Eagles scored, led by Antoine Davis' 26 points. Kennedy Eubanks had 21 points and Ishmael Sanders added 16. The Eagles finished the game with a 51% field goal percentage (36-of-70) and out-rebounded the Rams 50-34.
"We told our guys at halftime that we had shot the ball well and while we didn't talk about cooling off, we did want to establish more of an inside presence and get points at the line and our guys followed that lead," Carson-Newman head coach Chuck Benson said after the win over Bluefield.
"This was a coming out party for Kennedy," Benson said of Eubanks who added 14 rebounds to go along with his 21 points. "He is just getting better and better every time we play. Antoine (Davis) is one of the better scorers in our league. Ishmael (Sanders) had a solid game with 16 points, five assists and two steals," Benson said.
The Eagles opened the contest on fire from outside, hitting three straight shots from long to open the contest. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come in the first half. Carson-Newman shot an incredible 58% from three-point range in the first half, connecting on 11 of their 19 shots from downtown.
Byron Carpenter, who exploded for 38 points and 11 rebounds, kept the Rams in the contest as he scored 12 of their first 18 points. Carpenter scored four straight to give Bluefield a 30-29 lead at the 9:27 mark. But that was when the wheels fell off for the Rams as Carson-Newman went on a 16-0 run, a run which started and ended with a three-pointer by Antoine Davis as the Eagles were rolling.
After Carpenter stopped the bleeding with five points on two consecutive possessions, the Eagles took flight again, scoring eight straight with three pointers by Sanders and Eubanks. Marcellous Perez banged home a trey with just over a minute to go and that was enough to give the Eagles a 57-41 lead at the half.
The Rams opened the second half by cutting the lead down to 11 points but C-N responded once again with a run, this time seven straight to go up 64-46 just three minutes into the contest. The Eagles pushed the ball inside and the result was C-N went to the free throw line 19 times in the second half, hitting 14. The inside-outside combination was just too much for the Rams to handle as Carson-Newman won 99-80.
The loss avenged a loss to the Rams last year and Benson said there was a concern coming in with the way Bluefield shot the ball, especially from long-range. "They are number one in the country in NAIA in scoring and in three-point field goals made. So we were a little concerned but we came out with a lot of focus trying to get a win," Benson stated.
The Eagles will return to action in 2012 when they return to conference play with a home game against Brevard on January 4.
May 10, 2012
Benson, Eagles add three to 2012-2013 signing class
February 29, 2012
Wingate outlasts Eagles in SAC Tournament opener, 58-51
February 23, 2012
Sanders, Eagles take down No. 12 Lincoln Memorial, 77-69
February 19, 2012
Newberry rallies past C-N behind hot second half shooting, 82-71
February 16, 2012
Eagles fall at Mars Hill in overtime, 96-93
February 12, 2012
Lenoir-Rhyne rides frontcourt to win over Eagles, 82-70
February 8, 2012
Sanders, Davis carry Eagles in win over Pioneers, 78-64
February 4, 2012
Eagles win streak stopped by Wingate, 78-64
February 2, 2012
Eagles hot early, often in win at Brevard, 84-63
January 28, 2012
Eagles hold off late rally to win at Catawba, 73-69
January 25, 2012
Eagle' defense stifles No. 5 LMU in upset, 64-61
January 21, 2012
Anderson starts hot to knock off Eagles, 82-70
January 18, 2012
Eagles cruise past Mars Hill, 99-73
January 15, 2012
Cold-shooting Eagles fall at Newberry
January 12, 2012
Tusculum rallies twice to beat Eagles, 67-61
January 7, 2012
Lenoir-Rhyne slides by Eagles late, 66-60
January 4, 2012
Eagles’ defense stifles Brevard, 69-55
December 17, 2011
Eubanks, Eagles pull away early against Bluefield, 99-80
December 12, 2011
Carson-Newman’s Sanders named SAC Player of the Week
December 10, 2011
Eagles cruise past Lees-McRae behind big first half, 94-73
December 7, 2011
Eagles wear down Tennessee Wesleyan, 75-60
December 4, 2011
Wingate pulls away late to hand Eagles first SAC loss, 83-74
November 30, 2011
Eagles shoot down Catawba to open SAC play, 74-66
November 26, 2011
Eagles dismantle Ohio State-Mansfield, 91-48
November 25, 2011
Sanders, Davis carry Eagles past Hiawasse, 81-58
November 24, 2011
Benson, Eagles sign Knox West's Carson Brooks for 2012-2013
November 23, 2011
Fast start leads Belmont Abbey past Eagles on Tuesday night
November 19, 2011
Short-handed Eagles fall to hot-shooting King, 79-71
November 14, 2011
Eagles' Sanders earns SAC Player of the Week honors
November 12, 2011
Sanders' late heroics lifts Eagles past Erskine in overtime, 73-70
November 9, 2011
Eagles open regular season on Friday night against King in Harrogate
November 5, 2011
ETSU tops Eagles in exhibition action, 87-59
November 4, 2011
Eagles hang tough with Tennessee in exhibition, 73-52
November 2, 2011
Sanders named preseason All-SAC; Eagles picked to finish fifth
October 15, 2011
Basketball Time: Benson, Eagles open practice Saturday morning