VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
EMORY, Va. – Carson-Newman (9-2, 4-0 South Atlantic Conference) held the SAC's second-highest scoring offense 20 points below their average and staved off a late Emory & Henry (7-4, 1-3 SAC) rally to secure an 85-69 win over the Wasps Saturday afternoon at The King Center.
Carson-Newman led by 12 at the break before using a 17-3 run to extend a lead out to 30 at the midpoint of the second half. However, Emory & Henry got hot from beyond the arc and carved the deficit down to nine points with 3:37 to play before the Eagles hit free throws to cement their seventh straight road win.
"This was an outstanding road win because they can score a whole lot of points," head coach Chuck Benson said. "This will sound crazy, but when we got up by 30, I got scared to death. It's hard to stay motivated at that point, and then your opponent might start playing free and easy. It felt a lot like playing Dave Davis-era Newberry teams because they can score so quick. The Grinch-like greed in me wanted more, because I knew how hard it would be to sustain it. Our guys showed a great deal of poise to finish that out the right way."
Carson-Newman owns the sixth-longest active road winning streak in the country as a result and stayed perfect all-time against the Wasps at 14-0. All 14 wins have come by double figures.
Emory & Henry entered the contest second in the SAC and eighth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 88.7 points per game. The Eagles held them to their second-lowest scoring total of the season (69) and their lowest shooting percentage (35.9 percent).
Carson-Newman held E&H leading scorer Gabe Brown to half of his season average (six points, he came in averaging 14) and became the first team to keep Brown scoreless from beyond the arc (0-of-5 from three).
While Brown struggled, Malcolm Morgan and Kevin Grau Rodriguez got hot. The due had combined to hit seven threes all season entering the game. Rodriguez canned 5-of-7 threes, while Morgan knocked down 3-of-6.
"Our defensive personnel to the pregame scout was great," Benson said. "Our in-game adjustment to personnel, specifically to Rodriguez wasn't as strong. We knew Gabe Brown and Jacob Morgan were their shooters, and even Moynihan, we made a big deal about recognizing personnel in our prep, and we did that today."
Those were the only two double digit scorers for E&H, both had 15 points.
Carson-Newman used a 21-5 burst to go up 67-37 with 9:28 to go thanks to a Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) bucket at the cup. Luke Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) and Caleb Bridgewater (Charlotte, N.C.) sparked the run with a trio of threes, with two from Brenegan sandwiching one from Bridgewater.
The Wasps wouldn't go quietly into the night though. The Wasps outscored the Eagles 25-6 over the next six minutes before Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) snapped a six-minute field goal drought with an and-one and give C-N a double-digit lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way.
Thomas led C-N with 18 points, five boards and four blocks. He was 8-of-12 from the floor.
"Our guys have a great deal of confidence in what we do defensively," Benson said. "But whenever BT is on the floor at the rim, the confidence goes to another level because he can impact every offensive player in a certain kind of way. He is the prototype. If we could have one of him for the remainder of my career, we'd all be very happy."
Thomas was one of four Eagles in double-figures. Luke Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) had 15 on 3-of-5 shooting. He was 7-for-8 at the stripe. The senior had a season-best seven rebound and four assists.
Bridgewater matched his career high with 14 points and a career-high four made threes.
"Bridge had extreme confidence tonight," Benson said. "We are fortunate to have a guy like Bridge who has been here and invested in our program for a long time. He was professional in his approach. He was ready when called up to serve in a big way. He's done that, and it's not a surprise that he did that tonight. When I see the payoff for, it thrills me."
He was 4-of-6 from long range and had four boards.
Monty Johal (Springfield, Mo.) rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers with 12 points. He was 3-of-5 from deep.
Carson-Newman converted 11-of-20 three-point shots. Carson-Newman shot 44.1 percent from the field, its second-worst shooting effort of the season.
C-N outrebounded the Wasps 40-39. E&H was plus nine on the glass at the half before the Eagles outrebounded the Wasps 23-13 after halftime. In spite of having 12 offensive boards, E&H only scored 13 second-chance points.
"We made a big deal at the half about rebounding," Benson said. "That was a testament to our guy's determination to go punch for punch with a team that is incredibly physical and determined to do work on the glass."
Carson-Newman wraps up the pre-Christmas schedule Dec. 19 at home against Tennessee Wesleyan. Tipoff for the old TVAC rivalry is set for 2 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
