VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Charles Clark Interview
VIDEO: Sawyer Williams Interview
"They're shooting tonight was phenomenal," head coach Chuck Benson said. "They were otherworldly tonight. I thought our offense was good enough. I'm looking forward to seeing the tape, but I thought we were there a lot and they stepped up and made shots. There's no reason to get down or discouraged from a game like this because LMU stepped up and made a lot of spectacular plays tonight."
Luquon Choice proved to be the primary spark plug for LMU. The junior guard canned 10-of-17 threes and scored 38 points for LMU. Choice's 38 points are the second most an Eagle opponent has ever scored. His 10 threes are tied for fourth for a single game in South Atlantic Conference history.
He was nearly matched by the Eagles' Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.). Clark reset his career high and went for 30 points for a second straight night with 36 on 13-of-19 shooting.
The Railsplitters drilled 16 of their 32 threes on the night, including nine of their first 13. LMU shot 58.1 percent from the field (36-for-62). Carson-Newman finished at 61.1 percent (33-for-54) from the field and 43.8 percent (7-for-16) from three.
Following a back-and-forth start that saw the squads knotted at 17 nine minutes into the half, the Railsplitters went absolutely bonkers from behind the three-point line to fuel a 21-4 run and take a commanding 38-21 lead with 8:33 left in the half. The Railsplitters drained five threes over that span.
However, Carson-Newman responded with a 15-4 spurt of its own. A Clark steal and a tomahawk left hand slam cut Lincoln Memorial's lead to 42-36 at the 5:12 mark.
C-N would eventually whittle the deficit to four by halftime on a Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) layup, 50-46.
What ultimately proved to be the difference in the game was the first four minutes of the second half.
C-N turned it over four times in the first four minutes of the second stanza (half of its turnovers for the game) as the Railsplitters exploded out of the gate in the second half by hitting seven of their first eight shots and five of their first six threes.
By the time the dust had settled, Choice had 19 points in a nine-minute span and LMU had outscored the Eagles 30-10 run, giving the Railsplitters an 82-58 lead.
C-N would work its way back into things, maintaining its offensive efficiency throughout the contest, but the slip up to start the first half proved too much to overcome against an LMU team that was operating on a different plane of existence.
To go along with Clark's 36, Williams added 17 on 7-for-10 shooting. Zack Pangallo (Newport, Ky.) chipped in with 11 while Carson Brooks (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 10.
Three players accounted for 74 percent of the Railsplitters scoring. Gerel Simmons had 22 while Jalen Steele added 14 to aid Choice in his prodigious scoring punch.
LMU became the first team to crack the century mark on C-N since Newberry did so in a 106-105 win from February of 2011. The Railsplitters are the first team since Newberry (also C-N's last home loss) earlier this year to knock down 16 threes in a game.
The Eagles return home Saturday to battle another nationally-ranked foe. No. 15 Queens will be in town for a 4 p.m. tip. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
