BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Carson-Newman sophomore guard Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has been named to the Bevo Francis Award watch list, consisting of 100 of the finest men's basketball players in the country who compete in the affiliations of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
The award is presented by Small College Basketball.
Clark is fifth in the league in scoring with 19.5 points per game. He's made more free throws (92) than anyone else in the conference. He is on pace to challenge Chris Jones for his 55-year-old school record of 217 made in a year.
At 92.0 percent shooting from the free throw line, Clark could also reset the South Atlantic Conference single season record.
Clark has topped the 20-point threshold eight times this season – including a season-high 27 in an 87-79 win at USC Aiken.
Clark is joined on the watch list by fellow SAC players Keenan Palmore (Lenoir-Rhyne) and Jalen Steele (LMU). Dontrell Brite of Mount Olive is the only other player from the Southeast Region included on the list.
The committee chose this elite group from over 1,100 colleges and universities and took into consideration individual statistics, previous awards, milestones and team success.
On February 15, SCB will publish the next Watch List with 50 players. The list will be narrowed down to 25 players in a Watch List published on March 15. The finalists will be announced in a highlight video that will be released on April 1.
Bevo Francis played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54. When he arrived on campus, the school had 38 male students enrolled in the school and was on the verge of bankruptcy, planning to close its doors at the end of the 1952-53 school year. In the season before Bevo arrived at Rio Grande, the Redmen (now the Red Storm) had gone 4-19.
During his two seasons at Rio Grande, Bevo ultimately helped to save the school from bankruptcy. During his first year, the Redmen went 39-0, and Bevo scored 1,954 points and averaged 50.1 points per game. Against Ashland College (KY), Francis scored 116 points, which included 55 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
