Clark nabs AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week honors

VIDEO: Charles Clark Interview   

ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the fourth time in his career, junior guard Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has earned AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week honors, the league office announced Monday.

Clark put together a week that C-N head coach Chuck Benson called the greatest week of basketball he has seen as head coach in his time at Mossy Creek. 

"We're just so very happy for him," Benson said. "I'm not surprised.  Charles has the ability to do what he's done on any given night.  He stepped up to the challenge this week and delivered. 

The Murfreesboro, Tenn.-native started the week with a 27-point, 13-rebound, six-assist effort in a 100-77 win over Anderson, and followed that up with a 28-point, 13-rebound, seven-assist performance in a 110-91 triumph over Newberry.

"We're playing for so much," Clark said. "We're tied for second in the conference.  I just want to go out there and play my hardest. It's not something that you go out and try to do, it just happens over the course of games.  It's pretty cool to be recognized for it."

For the week, Clark averaged 27.5 points, 13 boards, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  He produced back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career. 

Entering the week, Kyle Gribble was the only C-N men's basketball player with a 25-point, 10-rebound, five-assist effort for the Eagles this century.  Clark did it twice this week. 

The 27 and 28 points were each season highs for Clark.  The 13 boards are both career highs.  The six, then seven assists are also season highs for the junior. 

"We've been focusing on sharing the basketball well," Clark said. "We try to focus on passing the ball well, in particular the last two games, people have been capitalizing when we've gotten open shots."

Clark has now strung together 51 consecutive contests where he has scored in double digits.  He has topped 25 in three straight game.  Clark has 37 career 20-point scoring efforts, and 10 this season. 

The Player of the Week honor is the first for Clark (and Carson-Newman for that matter) since he earned a plaudit in the second week of February last season. 

Clark and the rest of the Eagles will be in action Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at Lincoln Memorial.  Pregame coverage starts at 7:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.