Turnovers doom Eagles in 73-63 loss at Anderson

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Christian Harris Interview

ANDERSON, S.C. – Carson-Newman (13-12, 11-8 South Atlantic Conference) coughed up 19 turnovers leading to 21 Anderson points (12-13, 8-11 SAC) in a 73-63 win for the Trojans Wednesday evening at the Abney Athletic Center. 

"Anderson is a solid, well-coached team with veteran leadership," head coach Chuck Benson said. "As good as they are, the turnovers were more about us.  What they did had nothing to do with the way we functioned.  Turn the ball over 19 times. You're going to lose.  At this point, you would think we would have some of that resolved."

The Trojans jumped out a 43-32 halftime lead on the back of a pair of 8-0 first-half runs. 

The Eagles could get no closer than four down the stretch, as Anderson capitalized on C-N turnovers each time the Eagles got close.  For once, the three-point shot brought Carson-Newman back from the brink.  The Eagles drained 10-of-24 (42 percent) of their threes.  It marks the second time this year the Eagles have hit 10 or more threes in a game and hit on the plus side of 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Christian Harris (Mesa, Ariz.) led the barrage from beyond the arc.  The freshman, seeing is first significant playing time of the season, connected on 4-of-8 three pointers and obliterated his career high with 14 points.     

"He was an unlikely hero in the sense that he hadn't played," Benson said. "But today, he did what we brought him here to do. He's a freshman who hasn't had a ton of chances. But with Anderson taking away from our inside game, we needed a bit more firepower from the perimeter.  We had to change it up a bit and he capitalized when called upon."

Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) led C-N with 15 points.  Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Andy Barnett (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) knocked down 3-of-5 and 2-of-6 threes, respectively. 

The Trojans were also able to make hay at the free throw stripe.  Anderson hit an other-worldly 92.3 percent of its shots at the line, connecting on 24 of 26 attempts. 

"This year, and typically, we don't foul," Benson said. "For whatever reason today, we were whistled a lot.  Credit to Anderson in that sense, they hit everything at the line."

The Trojans got 18 points from post player Chris Ross and 12 from Maurice Howard. Of Howards' 12, 10 came at the stripe. 

Carson-Newman finishes out a three-game road trip Saturday at Queens. Tipoff with the Royals is set for 4 p.m.  Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.