VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Reece Anderson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Newberry (14-14, 10-12 South Atlantic Conference) outscored Carson-Newman (10-18, 7-15 SAC) 32-9 over a 16-minute stretch spanning the halftime break to turn a nine-point deficit into an 11-point win, 87-76 Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
The win spoiled Carson-Newman's senior day celebration of Reece Anderson (Douglasville, Ga.) and pushed the Wolves into the sixth seed in the South Atlantic Conference tournament.
"All the coaches I've had over the course of my basketball career period have turned me into the person and the man I am today," Anderson said. "That's especially true of coach Chuck Benson. He really taught me the value of doing the little things and how much the details matter in every aspect in life. Whether that's your relationships, your job or on the court. You want to have the 'give more than expected' approach in everyday life."
Anderson tallied six points and three assists in his final game. He finishes his career with 580 career points and 232 career assists. The 232 career dimes are good for the 17th most all-time in Carson-Newman history.
"Reece and I are similar in a lot of ways," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We are both passionate about this game. We'll miss his fire, desire and want to. We're sending him out into the world with confidence that he will do well. He'll be successful in his life and career, I'm a Reece Anderson fan forever and always."
It seemed like Carson-Newman would be sending their lone senior out in style. The Eagles bounded out of the gates with a 9-0 run and built a 14-point lead, 23-9 six minutes into the game after a Zailan Peeler (Charlotte, N.C.) fast break layup.
However, Newberry slowly began whittling away at the deficit. The Eagles led by nine with 2:32 to play in the half after back-to-back Trey Smith (Boiling Springs, S.C.) triples.
In spite of the Eagles shooting 67.8 percent from the field in the opening stanza, the Wolves would close the half on a 6-0 run to cut C-N's edge to a 48-45 lead into the halftime locker room.
Things wouldn't be any prettier to start the second half. The Eagles started the half 2-for-13 from the field while turning the ball over five times in the first 3:20 of the half and seven times in the first 5:58.
The Wolves scored the first seven out of the break to grab a 49-48 lead with 18:08 to play. A lead they would not surrender.
"I hate this for a guy like Reece," Benson said. "We really wanted to go out on a win today for him. However, today is an example of us getting what we deserved. We didn't perform at a high enough level to be worthy of a win. In a broader context, we got what we deserved this season. Inconsistency marked today. Our inability to generate points in stretches was noticeable. This was a microcosm of what the 2019-20 year has been all year long."
EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman in scoring with 12 points to go along with seven boards.
Kaleb Wallace (Atlanta, Ga.) and Dima Bykov (Moscow, Russia) each had 10.
Newberry's Marcus Ford led all scorers with 19 points off the bench. He was efficient and effective, knocking down 6-of-10 shots and 3-of-5 threes. Quandaveon McCollum powered his second career double-double against the Eagles with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Angelo Sales and Luke Gibson rounded out the Wolves double-digit scorers with 13 and 11.
The Eagles shot a higher percentage than the Wolves (48.3 percent – 46.8 percent), however, the Wolves knocked down more field goals (29-28) and buried more free throws (22) than the Eagles attempted (18).
"The thing that's been true of this team has been our unbelievably consistent ability to be inconsistent," Benson said. "I'd like to tell you that I was magically able to create that first half performance. Second half we did nothing different, and yet we could not come out and do what we had shown that we could do the first half. I'm hoping that this year will allow our team in the upcoming season to be a more consistent team, because we had stretches this year where we were really, really good."
Anderson gave his teammates one piece of advice as they look toward improvement in 2020-2021.
"Play for each other, and do everything for the team." Anderson said. "Whether its in class studying, I'm doing this for my teammates. It's not about you, it's about the team, your family and future."
