CHARLOTTE, N.C. – 17th-ranked Queens (N.C.) used a 23-5 run to close the first half after Carson-Newman took its only lead of the night to breeze to an 85-63 Saturday afternoon at Curry Arena.
The Eagles (4-5, 0-3 South Atlantic Conference) are off to a 0-3 start in conference action for the first time since 2006 when Carson-Newman lost to Lincoln Memorial, Newberry and Mars Hill to begin its league slate.
"You have two teams that historically have been pretty sound defensively," Carson-Newman coach Chuck Benson said. "The schemes have been different. They have been an aggressive man-to-man team. We've been more of a pack zone type of team. I think this was the most physical game we played this year. There's a pretty distinct difference in the way things are called. This takes nothing away from the fact that Queens is outstanding. We just have a very narrow margin for error."
Queens (9-0, 4-0 SAC) started and ended the first half with strong runs scoring the first nine points of the night on three-pointers prompting a timeout from Benson at the 18:09 mark of the first frame. The lead moved to 12-2 when Carson-Newman used a 10-2 sequence making 5 of 6 shots to close within a bucket at 14-12 with 12:23 to play first half.
An old fashioned three-point play from sophomore guard Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) with 7:16 to play in the stanza gave the Eagles their first and only lead of the night at 25-23.
The Royals capped the opening 20 minutes on a 23-5 run to take their largest lead to that point at 46-30 heading into the locker rooms.
Rob Lewis and Todd Withers each had 10 points in the half as the Royals converted 7 of 14 from the three-point arc.
The Eagles turned the ball over 11 times leading to 12 points for the Royals who finished the half with just four giveaways.
Queens did not miss a beat to begin the second stanza starting the half on an 11-3 run spanning to the 16:22 point. The lead continued to balloon getting as high as 34 points on a 12-2 spurt by the Royals to the 7:38 mark. From that point, the Eagles chipped away at the deficit but the margin was too much to overcome.
Carson-Newman finished with 20 turnovers, its second-most this season, leading to 24 points for Queens. The Royals shot below their 53 percent average on the year shooting 46 percent in the game while going just 4-for-15 from distance in the second stanza. The Royals converted its second-most three-pointers this season making 11 in the game.
Clark led all scorers with 21 points going 7-for-12 in the contest, good for his 15th 20-point game of his career. Junior forward Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) notched 12 points and sophomore guard Christian Harris (Gold Canyon, Ariz.) tallied 11 points.
Four players scored in double figures for the Royals led by 16 points from Withers and 13 points from Lewis. Marquis Rankin had 11 points and Jared Hendryx finished with 10 points.
The Eagles travel to Salisbury, N.C. Wednesday to challenge Catawba at 8 p.m. for the final contest away from home in 2015. Broadcast coverage begins at approximately 7:45 p.m. with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off on Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM and cneagles.com/live.
- CN -
