VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Ren Dyer Interview
HICKORY, N.C. - Carson-Newman (11-5, 8-4 South Atlantic Conference) held Lenoir-Rhyne (4-12, 3-10 SAC) to just one made shot over a 12-minute period in the second half and used a 23-4 run to bury the Bears in a 73-65 win Saturday at Shuford Gym.
The win is Carson-Newman's fourth straight to start 2022 and its fourth consecutive win over Lenoir-Rhyne. The Eagles have matched their longest winning streak in series history at four straight wins over the Bears.
Carson-Newman trailed by one at the break and by eight, 44-36, with 17:06 to play when Chuck Benson called timeout after Lenoir-Rhyne started the second half on a 9-2 scoring run. The Bears wouldn'make another shot until the 11:10 mark while Carson-Newman used a 23-4 run to turn the eight-point deficit into a double-digit lead.
"I threatened to give our postgame pizzas to the three Lenoir-Rhyne students who were in the building in that timeout," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We have a couple things we do defensively, and we were struggling to execute our primary package. We made an adjustment and the guys responded to that adjustment. We did a better job of protecting the interior and containing the ball. That was one side, on the other we got stops and made baskets."
Lenoir-Rhyne bounded out of the gates to start the second half by knocking down four of its first five shots. A jumper from Salle Wilson gave the Bears an eight-point lead. It took two minutes for Carson-Newman to find its offensive footing. EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) capped a 7-0 surge to get the deficit down to one with 13:24 to go with the jumper from the middle of the paint.
A pair of Steele free throws broke up the surge, but C-N hopped right back on the offensive train with a Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) layup and three that put C-N up for good with 12:22 left. A Ren Dyer (Weaverville, N.C.) steal and fast break slam, plus a twisting Tyler Bowens (Greenville, S.C.) contorting layup got Carson-Newman up double digits, 59-48 with 7:42 to go.
It marks the second game this season C-N has rallied from a halftime deficit to win.
"Our guys who we needed to do things, did tonight," Benson said. "It was nice to see Tripp shake off the rust. I thought EJ demonstrated a great deal of poise in winning time leading us when we had to get the ball up the floor."
While Carson-Newman surged offensively in the second half, the Bears made just one shot from the field out of 14 attempts in the 12-minute stretch.
Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) paced Carson-Newman with 17 points. He was 6-for-13 from the field and also had five boards, four assists and three steals.
Dyer turned in his fifth career double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Carson-Newman is 5-0 all-time when Dyer goes for a double-dip. He also matched a career high with three steals.
Bush added in 12, while Brenegan followed with 10. Tyler Bowens (Greenville, S.C.) set a new career high with four assists.
Meanwhile, Nas Tyson exploded for Lenoir-Rhyne. The guard entered the game averaging 7.5 points per game. He finished with 21 on 9-of-13 shooting. TJ Nesmith added in 17. He was 5-of-6 from the field.
The Eagles limited the Bears leading scorer, Jalen Johnson to one point. He went 0-for-9 from the field and 0-for-7 from three.
"It was less who was who and more about limiting shot types," Benson said. "In the first half, because of the way we were defending, they got a variety of shot types. The second half, they didn't have as wide a variety. That goes back to the decisions we made. This was not a great performance for us, but provided us some great opportunities to learn."
Carson-Newman handed out 20 assists for a seventh time this season and a second on the road.
Lenoir-Rhyne entered the game 11th in the country in fewest turnovers. The Eagles produced 11 steals – a third double-digit steal game this season – and converted them into a 16-6 edge in points off turnovers.
"Our hand game was strong tonight. We make a big deal about the hand game," Benson said. "Our guys were just in position to get hands on balls tonight."
Conversely, Carson-Newman only turned it over nine times – the second game this year in single-digit turnovers.
"They were ready to play and this is always a challenging place to play," Benson said. "Then you add in the wrinkle that the guy the floor was named for – John Lentz (Hall of Fame Lenoir-Rhyne head coach) – was in the building and we got to chat. That put some extra pressure on the situation. We were still able to find the win. Credit goes to our guys, especially the second half. I thought our resilience and determination has shown through in back-to-back road games."
Carson-Newman returns home for a Monday matinee against Coker. Tipoff with the Cobras from Holt Fieldhouse is set for 2 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
