VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, TENN– Carson-Newman (1-2, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) limited Newberry (1-1, 1-1 SAC) to 43 percent shooting the whole game, but fall by a 70-67 score Wednesday night in Holt Fieldhouse. Newberry has now won three straight matchups with the Eagles for the third time in series history.
"This is our third overall game and first home game. We had an unfortunate opening on the road in the conference at Coker and then got a great road win in Wingate," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "This was somewhere in between those two games. I saw some things I like, but we still have room for improvement."
The team's see-sawed back and forth throughout the first half. The Eagles shot an impressive 54.5 percent from the field, including seven three-pointers from junior Luke Brenegan (Greenville, SC) who went 4-7 and freshman Ren Dyer (Weaverville, N.C.) who shot 3-4 on threes. The Wolves were led by an astounding 16 first-half points from TJ Brown. Neither team held more than an eight-point lead during the half with both teams making spurts of 6-0 runs to keep the spread close.
Carson-Newman finished the half with five straight made baskets to keep the game close and eventually walk into the locker knotted at 38-38 with the Wolves. The Eagles knocked down 64% of their threes- going 7 for 11. Eagles shot 55 percent in the first half while the Wolves shot 48 percent to make offense the name of the game for the first half.
Both teams struggled to open the second half. The Eagles started off missing their first six shots to open the half while the Wolves started one-for-seven in the second half. Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) eventually opened the scoring for the Eagles with a put back dunk almost five and a half minutes into the half, cutting the score deficit to a mere one point.
After both teams started off with shooting woes to open the second half, they fought back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the half. The Wolves picked up the pace and scored five straight to open a 46-40 deficit after shooting woes to start the half. Carson-Newman faced a 2:30 scoring drought before Kaleb Wallace (Atlanta, Ga.) entered the scoring column to keep the Eagles only down by two baskets (46-42).
Defense was the name of the game for the second half, with no team leading more than eight in the entire second half; much like the first. The Eagles shot a whopping 44.8 percent from the field while holding the Wolves to 36 percent (9-25). The Wolves caused 12 Eagle turnovers, scoring on 11 of those to have a 22-15 scoring edge in points off turnovers.
"If you tell me we outrebound, out-assist, and out-shoot a team, you typically win a lot of games but there is still room for improvement." "We were hungry, but Newberry was just as hungry for their own first win," Benson said. "Some good things I saw from our team. We knew between Brown, Ford, and McCollum (all SAC proven players) it was going to be a challenge. We didn't have a legitimate answer at times and limit touches."
Wallace and Brenegan led C-N in scoring with 17 and 12, respectively. Wallace scored all of his points in the second half. Wallace also added four boards and was 2-3 from the free-throw stripe. Brenegan went 4-6 from deep and 4-11 from the field.
Dyer was the only other Eagle in double digits. Dyer had 11 points to go with five boards and two assists. Dyer also went 4-7 from the three-point line. Thomas added a strong six points with three boards and two blocks.
"I love how we have young guys like Dyer and Wallace to grow and help us succeed in games like this one," Benson said. "I think these guys will continue growing and be a key part of our growth this season."
TJ Brown and QuanDaveon McCollum paced Newberry with 25 and 13, respectively. McCollum also added a team-high nine boards. Brown was 9-16 from the floor. Freshman Malakhi Stremlow added in 9 points and five boards.
"I think the biggest difference between halves was McCollum," Benson said. "Newberry came out trying to take away shots, which resulted in our offensive shooting struggles. Players like Tyler Bowens had to step in, but he struggled today as a freshman but he and the team will learn from today and grow throughout this season."
Carson-Newman's focus turns now to Saturday when they hold a non-conference tilt against the Cavs of UVA-Wise at 2:00 PM inside Holt Fieldhouse.
"How do we get ready for Saturday: we go back to practice, study tonight's film, and then put our focus on improving for UVA-Wise. They're a capable scoring team and our focus continues to be on us improving ourselves in order to be ready for any competition."
Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
