VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Mason Bates Interview
VIDEO: Taylor Hawkins Interview
BREVARD, N.C. – Carson-Newman (15-12, 11-10 South Atlantic Conference) halted a three-game losing skid in emphatic fashion with a 102-55 beatdown of Brevard (5-22, 4-17 SAC) Wednesday night at Boshamer Gymnaium.
The Eagles' 47-point margin of victory is the Eagles' 15th largest win all-time, the biggest of the Chuck Benson era and the first gap of that margin since a 1988 win over Tusculum 138-89.
Secondly, the 47-point win is the second largest win in the South Atlantic Conference this season only to Lincoln Memorials' 49-point win over Coker.
"I thought we had wise preparation the last three days," head coach Chuck Benson said. "Our illustrious leader (director of athletics) Allen Morgan and I put our heads together and decided that we just looked tired these last few games. We gave those guys extra time Monday and Tuesday to get their legs and bodies back. It was the least amount of beatin' and bangin' that we've done all year long. It certainly paid off tonight. It was a complete 40-minute performance."
If you name a statistical category, chances are, Carson-Newman owned it in this game. The Eagles shot 64 percent from the field and 61 percent from three while holding Brevard to 35 percent shooting and 25.8 percent shooting from deep.
The only stat that Carson-Newman lost was the turnover battle. The Eagles gave it away 17 times, however, 10 of those came in the last 12 minutes of the game when the Eagles had pulled most of their starters.
Carson-Newman also forced Brevard to set a South Atlantic Conference record. The Tornados broke a 25-year-old record for the most defensive rebounds allowed in a SAC game. The Eagles collected a whopping 42 defensive caroms and snagged 51 rebounds for the first time since hitting that mark against Lincoln Memorial in last year's SAC title game win.
The Eagles outrebounded Brevard 51-19. The plus-32 glass dominance is Carson-Newman's largest rebounding margin this century. The next closest came seven years ago.
C-N outrebounded Hiwassee by 26 in November 2009. The Eagles had 67 boards that day and 46 defensive rebounds.
Carson-Newman held the pedal to the floor and never let up.
The Eagles started the game on a 16-2 run highlighted by a trio of Mason Bates (Cookeville, Tenn.) triples. C-N would push the lead out to 34 at the halftime break, 57-23 thanks to a 26-5 run toward the end of the half.
"All the credit goes to our guys," Benson said. "We challenged them mentally these last few days about what this needed to look like performance wise. We praised them at the half, but really challenged them about not being content. That's why you saw the performance that you saw tonight. I'm so happy for our guys. We needed this on so many different levels."
Carson-Newman would stay hot in the second half, ballooning the lead out to 53, with 3:50 left in regulation on a Will Gardner (Oak Ridge, N.C.) free throw. However, Jonas Watts nailed a couple threes and Brevard went on an 8-0 run to ensure that Carson-Newman wouldn't record its 11th 50-point win all-time.
The Eagles had eight players score at least seven points.
Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the way with a quiet 20 points. He was 5-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep.
Sawyer Williams added 19 points and seven rebounds. He was 9-of-11 from the field. Williams has made 36 of his 46 career field goal attempts against Brevard.
Bates came within three of his career high with a 17-point effort. Carson Brooks (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 10 points while Taylor Hawkins (Madisonville, Tenn.) reset his career high with 10, as well.
Andy Barnett (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) came a point and a rebound away from his first career double-double. Barnett had nine points and nine boards in 17 minutes. The nine rebounds are a career high for him.
"The great thing about this is that we were able to rest some guys," Benson said. "We got to share minutes and everyone who played consistently played with a sense of urgency to lock down even the smallest details."
Miles Leathers led Brevard with an inefficient 23 points. He was 8-for-21 from the floor and 4-for-14 from the charity stripe.
The SAC's third leading scorer, Demarcus Threatt, came into the game averaging 21.7 points per game. The Eagles held him to two points. He was 1-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-6 from three. The scoring output is Threatt's lowest of the year and just the third time this season he's been held under 10 points. Threatt had 27 points in the first meeting this season.
The Eagles close out the regular season at Coker Saturday. Tipoff with the Cobras is set for 4 p.m. from the DeLoach Center. Pregame coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
