VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
GAFFNEY, S.C. – Carson-Newman (6-2, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) used an efficient offense and an overwhelming defense to go on run after run to en route to collecting a 74-56 road win at the Timken Center of Limestone (3-5, 1-1 SAC) Wednesday night.
Carson-Newman extended its road winning streak to six games, the second-longest road-winning streak the Eagles have put together this century and the 10th-longest active road winning streak in the country.
"I loved our follow through with our scout," head coach Chuck Benson said. "We had some game-specific things that we wanted to used defensively against them. Our guys executed that at an elite level. We had great alignment tonight from our players to our staff."
C-N limited the Saints to 35.1 percent shooting and to 56 points. It marks a second straight game where C-N has held its opposition to under 37 percent shooting and 60 points.
The Eagles dominated the glass, outrebounding the Saints 41-27, the third straight game C-N has outrebounded a team by double digits.
"We had to do a great job on the boards," Benson said. "That's something we can control to a degree. Our guys went up there and the results are what they are. It can be difficult to find baskets on the road. One way we can balance that out is to do a good job with that."
Included in its glasswork was a surprisingly strong tally on the offensive boards. The Eagles had 11 offensive rebounds after shooting 53.8 percent from the field. C-N outscored the Saints 13-5 in second chance points.
Carson-Newman used that rebounding to cue four runs of 8-0 or greater. Carson-Newman carried a 37-24 lead into the halftime break as a result of two of those runs.
Limestone got hot after halftime. The Saints started the period on a 10-2 run to trim it to five, 39-34, with 17:13 to go thanks to a pair of threes from Isayah Owens and Ayden Hickman.
Carson-Newman responded immediately with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes. Luke Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) sparked the surge with a three and an and-one before John Zhao finished it with a fastbreak layup that put the Eagles in front 51-34 with 13:45 to play. Carson-Newman would lead by double-digits the rest of the game.
Monty Johal (Springfield, Mo.) keyed Carson-Newman with 15 points, all in the first half. He only took one shot after halftime. However, in his stead, Brenegan poured in nine second half points, and Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) seven.
"Our guys trust each other," Benson said. "The defense tells you who is getting shots. Monty had the hot hand, and we addressed it at halftime that it could go either way after halftime. Everyone added value tonight."
Four Eagles finished in double figures, led by Johal's 15. He was 6-of-10 from the field.
Thomas added in 13 on 6-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Brenegan finished with 12. He was a flawless 3-of-3 from deep. Ben Beeker (Hendersonville, N.C.) rounded out C-N's double-digit scorers with 10 on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field.
"We had that impacted this game who might not be evident," Benson said. "We thought Butts and Mac had great games. Beeker was super efficient in limited minutes. Our team and our staff know what those three guys did to help us in a big-time way."
Reigning SAC Player of the Week Richard Nunez and Hickman each had 14 to lead the Saints.
Nunez stuffed the statsheet with six boards, three assists, three steals and four blocks – becoming the first Eagle opponent to lead his team in four stat categories since Bernard Pelote did so for Catawba on Feb. 2, 2022.
C-N shot 61.9 percent from the field after halftime and made 3-of-6 threes.
Limestone forced C-N into 15 turnovers, while the Saints coughed it up 11 times. The Timken Center felt like a raging inferno on the night. The floor was practically sweating, which resulted in both teams slipping and travelling at least six times.
Carson-Newman returns home to Holt Fieldhouse where it will play four of its next five games. C-N takes on UVA Wise Saturday at 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
