VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Tripp Davis Interview
VIDEO: Nick Brenegan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) altered Carson-Newman's (11-5) men's basketball record books and guided the Eagles past Benedict (3-1) Monday night at Holt Fieldhouse 86-69 to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.
Davis became the third player in Carson-Newman men's basketball history to score more than 40 points in a game and tied Chris Jones and Mike Ogan for the third most points in a game in school history.
The senior also knocked down 18-of-19 free throws to finish behind Chris Jones for the second most free throws taken and made in school history.
"That was a go, go, go mindset," Davis said. "Benedict is a good team and they deserve some credit, but they struggled with transition defense. I tried to get as many points in transition as I could. I'm tired. I'm just being honest. I did have some confidence that I could make those plays and that my teammates trusted me to give me the ball and let me run with it."
3⃣rd most points in a single game in school history
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 16, 2021
2⃣nd most free throws made in a single game in school history
1⃣0⃣ steals in the last two games.
Have a night @_tripp10. pic.twitter.com/0vwllMxTJr
The win is Carson-Newman's seventh straight at home and sixth straight overall. The Eagles have won all of those games by double digits.
"It means a lot to do what I did individually," David said. "The big thing though is that we won, I did not want to lose. In my mind I was thinking 'We can't lose. We can't lose.' That fueled me the entire night."
Davis scored 19 in the first half before tallying 25 after halftime. He was clutch in the final five minutes, going 8-for-8 at the charity stripe. He scored 15 points in the final 9:15 of the contest.
"His performance speaks for itself," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "In my time here, some of the greatest performances in the history of this school and in this conference have been right here in Holt Fieldhouse. There's Ish Sanders, there's Charlie Clark and now Tripp Davis is in that conversation. The truth of the matter is if he doesn't step up and score the ball like he did tonight, we don't win this game. He was out of this world."
Davis joined Charles Clark (54 v. Coker 2-25-17), Ish Sanders (51 v. Mars Hill 2-16-11), Chris Jones (44 v. Tusculum 1961), Mike Ogan (44 v. University of the Cumberlands 1974) and WA Wright (40 v. Georgia Southern 1-20-69) as the sixth Eagle to score 40 points in a game.
Benedict entered the contest averaging 46.3 percent shooting and 86.3 points per game. The Eagles held them 17 below their scoring average and to 33.8 percent shooting. Benedict becomes the third team that Carson-Newman has held below 35 percent shooting this season.
The game was tight through the first 32 minutes, swapping leads eight times with four ties. The Eagles held a 61-58 lead with 6:13 to play following a Jayden Lockett jumper.
The Eagles would roll off a 15-4 run over the next 4:30 to build a double-digit advantage for a ninth time in 10 games. Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) drilled back-to-back threes to aid the surge while Davis capped the fun with a three.
"We put this game on the schedule late as an opportunity to get better and make a statement," Benson said. "A statement was made today. That was nip and tuck for a long time. They are a big, tough, competitive team. Our young guys stepped up at a critical time while Tripp did work throughout. That last eight minutes was a great finishing effort."
✅ An all-time performance from @_tripp10.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 16, 2021
✅ A career night from Nick Brenegan @CN_Hoops has won six straight and nine of its last 10 pic.twitter.com/fwGyA5nMnq
Carson-Newman outscored Benedict 27-15 from the under eight media timeout through the close of the contest.
The Eagles were held to 28 points in the paint, their second lowest scoring effort inside this season and eight below their season average inside.
Carson-Newman only made three shots in the final 7:49, but on five attempts. Carson-Newman was 18-of-18 from the charity in that stretch.
"Free throws are big," Davis said. "Late we were able to knock them down, that, plus our defense helped secure this one."
3⃣8⃣ points for @_Tripp10
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 16, 2021
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The Eagles were held to 42.9 percent shooting from the field, their lowest output on this six-game winning streak. Carson-Newman knocked down 8-of-23 threes (34.8 percent) but 7-of-14 after halftime.
"Sometimes you have to win another way," Benson said. "Our defense was still sound and that's been the cornerstone of the success we've been fortunate enough to have this year. We didn't have as much of an inside-out action tonight. We had some, but today was more about driving and kicking. We got it, just a different way than normal."
Aside from Davis' bonkers night, Nick Brenegan added in a career-best 16 points. He was 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 at the line. All 16 of his points came after halftime.
Ren Dyer (Weaverville, N.C.) had 14 points and six rebounds before fouling out in 24 minutes. He scored 12 points in the first half.
The Tigers drilled a season-high six threes on 23 attempts. Timothy Bing led Benedict with 15 points before exiting with a second technical foul. He was 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-8 from three.
Tajh Green had 12 points and eight boards, while Jermone Bivins scored 13 off the bench while going 3-of-7 from deep.
The Eagles outrebounded the Tigers 43-42, the first time this season Benedict had been outrebounded.
Carson-Newman plays its third game in five days when it welcomes Mars Hill to Holt Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Tipoff with the Lions is set for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts 15 minutes prior to game time with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
