VIDEO: C-N v. Limestone Highlights
VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Charles Clark Interview
VIDEO: Taylor Hawkins Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (4-4) connected on 61 percent of his shots and used a 20-3 second half run to erase all doubt in collecting the program's first 30-point win in two years with a 100-69 stomping of Limestone (1-8) Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman crested the century mark for the first time since a 101-92 two overtime win over Newberry on Jan. 24, 2015. The win marked the first 30+-point triumph since throttling Anderson 92-55 in February of 2013.
"We've been efficient this year," head coach Chuck Benson said. "The problem that we've had is that people have scored the ball well on us and we've turned the ball over. Our offense was efficient tonight because we shared the ball well. We made the right passes to the right person at the right time. We were very intelligent with our spacing tonight."
The Eagles featured a balanced scoring attack that saw six players finish with at least 10 points since a Dec. 13 win last season over Tennessee Wesleyan.
Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the charge with 25 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. For the first time this season, Clark did not have a turnover.
"We don't start arguably our best player," Benson said. "He's fouled out of two and been in bad foul trouble in two others. We wanted to play him on the back end because we'd rather be better at the end of the game. With his numbers tonight, with only one foul, we might have found something valuable."
Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) followed by getting within spitting distance of a triple-double. The junior had 14 points, eight boards and a career-high six assists.
Zack Pangallo (Newport, Ky.) added a career high 13. He was 4-for-7 from the field and hit a pair of triples. Mason Bates (Cookeville, Tenn.) and Carson Brooks (Knoxville, Tenn.) each had 11 while Josh Rogers (Bristol, United Kingdom) chipped in 10.
Carson-Newman trailed by six midway through the first half before forcing five Limestone turnovers in a five-minute span to rattle off a 15-3 run and take an eight-point lead on a Clark pull-up three from the left wing with 5:19 left in the first half.
After Limestone cut it to four, 41-37 on a Shaq Dance layup with 1:57 to play, the Eagles kicked on the jets again. C-N finished the half on a 9-0 run and stretched it into the start of the second period with a Clark layup and a Pangallo triple.
Limestone got as close as 14 in the second half before the Eagles buried the Saints. Limestone went five minutes without scoring, and in the interim, the Eagles rattled off a 20-3 run to stretch the lead to 30 and put the game away.
A corner three from Andy Barnett (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) and a Rogers tip-in gave the Eagles their first 30-point lead, 73-43 with 12:25 left in the game
Carson-Newman was 37-for-61 for the game (60.7 percent) and 13-for-24 from beyond the arc (54.2 percent). Both of those tallies are season highs for the Eagles.
C-N also dished out a season-high 25 assists on the 37 made baskets.
Limestone was led by Shaq Dance's 17 points. Macoumba Kane added 13 and Brolin Floyd had 11.
C-N returns to conference play Saturday with a meeting with No. 17 Queens at Curry Arena in Charlotte. Tipoff with the Royals is set for 4 p.m. with coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
