VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Sawyer Williams Interview
Queens became the first team since Anderson in 2008 to score at least 110 points on Carson-Newman and the first team since King in 2009 to eclipse 60 points in a half.
"We could not have had a better week of preparation for this game from a scouting standpoint and from a practice standpoint," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "There was one thing though that we were concerned about and that trumped everything. That was the ability for players to go one-on-one, make a play, and make you like it. They did that over, and over, and over, and over again."
"There's a reason they beat VCU in an exhibition. They are as good as advertised and very deserving of their position of their spot in the national ranking."
The Royals blitzed the Eagles with a 10-0 run to build a double-digit lead early in the first half. Carosn-Newman would cut into that advantage with an 8-0 run of their own to get the deficit down to seven with 2:16 to play off back-to-back Zack Pangallo (Newport, Ky.) threes.
However, Queens smashed out an 11-0 run spanning the halftime break to push the lead back to double-digits. A Daniel Carr layup, Josh Van Weezep three and Ike Agusi free throw pushed the lead back passed 10 in a matter of 50 seconds.
Carson-Newman would draw no closer than 13 to the Royals the rest of the way.
"There was a stretch when they were pressing heavy and generating a lot of turnovers," Senior forward Sawyer Williams said. "They made a little run at the end of the half. That was big, we had cut it to seven and then went into the half down 15. It's tough to push out down 15."
The matchup looked to be setting up well for the Eagles. Queens' leading scorer Daniel Camps was held out with an ankle injury. Furthermore, the Royals' two primary posts Jared Hendryx and Todd Withers both picked up two personal fouls quickly and spent the first half on the bench.
Those absences didn't matter much. Agusi, who entered the contest averaging eight points per game and 11 percent shooting from three in SAC play, erupted for 20 points. That included a 3-of-6 effort from long range.
Furthermore, Carr, who was averaging 4.4 points per game, tallied 15 on 7-of-10 shooting.
"It's a testament to the talent level they have," Benson said. "Ike Agusi's shooting 11 percent from three in conference play. He comes out and knocks down 50 percent today. You have to give them great credit. I knew they were good. But their ability to make shots one-on-one was at another level. When you beat yourself, it's disappointing. When you get your teeth kicked in, you're not as upset about it because you recognize what the truth is, and the truth is they are very, very good."
Jalin Alexander, Darryl White and Mike Davis represented the Royals' other double-digit scorers. Alexander finished with 20; he knocked down 5-of-10 threes. White had 15, and Davis had 12.
"I don't think it mattered man or zone tonight," Benson said. "They were going to hurt you no matter what. We prepared properly. But to see us get absolutely smashed at home, that's really disappointing."
Charles Clark led the Eagles with 22 points, the 32nd 20-point outing in his career. Shaun Jones (Lawrenceville, Ga.) followed with 14 points and nine boards, just missing out on his fifth double-double of the year. Jones also handed out a career-high five assists.
Williams extended his career-long streak of consecutive games scoring double-digits to 17 with 13 points.
Carson-Newman played well offensively. The Eagles shot 48 percent from the field and scored 90 points on the Royals, both season highs for what Queens had been allowing. Additionally, C-N knocked down 10-of-22 three-point attempts.
C-N closes out the home portion of the fall schedule with a matchup Dec. 14 against Catawba. Tipoff with the Indians is set for 8 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
