VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Zack Pangallo Interview
While the Eagles led throughout the contest, 17 turnovers and a close game late soured the win for head coach Chuck Benson.
"I thought our first 15 minutes, we showed a good performance," Benson said. "The last 25 minutes of the game, we backslid. We didn't seem like we were as engaged or focused. That concerns me. We fell backwards into a win tonight. We were fortunate to get one tonight. Give some credit to Anderson, they were hungry and a bit more focused, but we did not control the things that we can control, at least to the level we have been."
The Eagles used a 12-3 run to grab a double-digit lead, 21-11, with 9:09 left in the first half on a Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) hook shot from the middle of the pain.
However, C-N weathered an eight-minute stretch spanning the halftime break where it didn't hit a field goal. Granted the Eagles did hit seven free throws in that span, and got to the line two other times where it failed to make its foul shots.
That stretch started the Eagles' frustrations, it was expounded by 10 C-N second half turnovers leading to 16 Anderson points.
Carson-Newman gave it away 17 times on the day leading to 27 points off turnovers for the Trojans.
"Our guard play was abysmal," Benson said. "Anderson didn't turn us over in a traditional sense. They created turnovers with a very passive aggressive approach. Instead of taking what they gave us, we tried to force things. When we tried to force things, it didn't end well."
Anderson got the deficit down to one once in the second half, 50-49 on a Maurice Howard jumper with 9:48 to go. C-N responded with a quick 8-3 spurt heralded by a pair of Zack Pangallo (Newport, Ky.) triples to push the lead back to a more comfortable margin.
"We looked hesitant and uncertain to shoot it tonight," Benson said. "We looked a little glassy-eyed tonight. All we can do is watch it, hope we learn from it, and move forward."
Williams and Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led C-N with 17 points apiece on the night. Pangallo added 15 and Mason Bates (Cookeville, Tenn.) 14.
Clark set a career high with eight assists, however, he also turned it over six times.
Randall Shaw led Anderson with 27 points in his first game back from a concussion. He hit 10-of-17 shots and 5-of-9 threes.
The Eagles hit the road Saturday for a pivotal contest with Lenoir-Rhyne. Tipoff from Shuford Memorial Gym is set for 4 p.m. Pregame 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.
