VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Mason Bates Interview
VIDEO: Dima Bykov Interview
VIDEO: Grant Teichmann Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Down 17 with 15:10 to play in the second half to Lenoir-Rhyne (4-6, 2-3 SAC), Carson-Newman (10-2, 4-2 South Atlantic Conference) needed a spark.
The Eagles got it on the defensive in with a six minute stretch where the Bears didn't convert a field goal. C-N rattled off a 22-6 run before closing out with a 90-83 win over the Bears Saturday evening at Holt Fieldhouse.
The win is the 13th consecutive for the Eagles inside the friendly confines. The 17-point comeback is tied for the third largest comeback in school history. The Eagles also rallied from a 17-point deficit for the program's 1,000th win against Lees-McRae in 2012 for a 69-63 triumph over the Bobcats. The Eagles had 21-point comebacks against Newberry (2014) and North Greenville (2007) for the largest comebacks in school history.
1️⃣ @birdclark1 - 1,933 points
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) December 17, 2017
2️⃣ @ish_sanders - 1,922 points
Here's the moment where Charles Clark takes over the top spot on @CN_Hoops career scoring list for the Division II era. pic.twitter.com/cChRWTgZEJ
"Good gracious, what a tale of two halves," head coach Chuck Benson said. "Our kids, despite the deep, ugly, dark, stinking hole we dug for ourselves, were resilient and poised enough to pull it out. In some sense, it was us digging a hole, but in others this was about Lenoir-Rhyne. They were as hot in their shot-making as you can be, especially when you consider that they haven't been a volume three-point shooting team this season. We were beyond fortunate to find a way back into this one."
In addition to the historical comeback, Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) etched his name into the record books. Clark had a 12-point night that moved him by Ish Sanders and into the top spot on Carson-Newman's career scoring chart for the Division II era (1992-present). Sanders had 1,922 points in his career, Clark now sits with 1,933 career points. He is fifth all-time in both the Carson-Newman and South Atlantic Conference's all-time scoring annals.
"He didn't even know it," Benson said. "What can you say about the guys career. What can you say? And we're still in the first semester in his senior year. There's still so much more to come for him."
While Clark played limited minutes because of foul trouble, plenty of other Eagles stepped up.
Carson-Newman had six players finish in double figures for the first time since Jan. 11, 2017 in a win at Brevard.
Malik Abraham (Snellville, Ga.) reset his season high with 23 points, leading the Eagles. Abraham was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
"He got hot," Benson said. "You could tell, it was oozing off of him. He was able to find spots and we found him. He was probably the primary catalyst who was finishing plays when we were playing well together."
Dmitrii Bykov (Moscow, Russia) exploded on to the scene as well in the win. The freshman entered the game with 14 points in his youthful career. With starting center Josh Murray (Burlington, N.C.) battling foul trouble, Bykov exploded with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
"He really responded," Benson said. "We don't win this game without Dima. His ability to make shots and be a space eater at the rim was critical. We have a lot to look forward for him."
Meanwhile, Grant Teichman (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Mason Bates (Cookeville, Tenn.) were on triple double watch. Bates came within a rebound of the fourth triple-double in school history, while Teichmann finished with 10 points, a career high eight boards and a career high eight assists.
Bates had 10 points, nine boards and 10 assists, he has the first double-double for C-N with points and assists since Kente Hart dished out 10 assists with 29 points against Wingate in February of 2007.
"Those guys know how to play winning basketball," Benson said. "Some of the passes Mason made in the second half were next level.
C-N rallies from down 17. Tied for the third biggest comeback in school history.
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) December 17, 2017
Peep the postgame infographic. Big days from @_MalikAbraham, @DimaBykov32, @MasonBates_33 and @granteichmann_ key the W pic.twitter.com/tmf0eKg2j4
"Then Grant made one of the biggest plays of the game and did it in a timeout. Grant is a great player, but he also has a bigtime brain. He, thankfully, pointed out a particular kind of alignment that he thought would work against what L-R was doing defensively. I was smart enough to listen and stamp it with a big amen. What you saw late was Grant's call."
Murray was the fifth Eagle into double figures with 12 points and seven boards.
Carson-Newman found itself in a nine-point halftime hole thanks to torrid shooting from the Bears.
Lenoir-Rhyne was averaging six made threes per game on 32 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Bears were second from the bottom in the league in three-point efficiency.
However, in the first half, the Bears knocked down 11-of-20 threes. They made as many threes in the first half as they had in any game all season.
The Bears utilized a 15-2 run spanning the halftime break to surge the lead to 17, 64-47 off a Cory Thomas three with 15:10 to play.
C-N started its rally then and there. The Bears cooled off tremendously. They missed five straight shots and turned it over four times over the next six minutes while the Eagles' cut it to one with a 22-6 scoring spurt.
"We made a big deal at the half about attempting to make them uncomfortable," Benson said. "We were fortunate enough to rattle that. Some credit goes to our guys. I've got to give a lot of credit to Lenoir-Rhyne though. They leave here frustrated because I'm sure this is one that they felt like they had and we snatched it away from them at the end."
Clark cut the deficit to 10 off a backdoor cut with 12:31 to play at 66-56. Then Abraham converted on a four-point play off a three from the left corner to bring the Eagles within six.
BOOM! The Eagles complete their third-biggest comeback in school history to knock off L-R.
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) December 16, 2017
�� @CN_Hoops 90
�� @BearsSports 83
FINAL pic.twitter.com/m2KcELJQJt
Carson-Newman then used the long ball and triples from Abraham and Teichmann to close within one, 70-69 with 8:47 to play off a Teichmann trey-ball.
The teams swapped the lead four times over the next four minutes before the Eagles pulled away with a 7-0 run all from Bates.
Bates pulled C-N within three on a foul-line jumper with 3:28 to play before spotting up for a corner three to give the Eagles the lead, 82-80 with 2:30 left.
He then cut backdoor and took a feed from Clark to extend the advantage to 84-80 with a minute left. Carson-Newman maintained a two-possession lead the rest of the way.
The Bears only knocked down four threes in the second half on 14 attempts. Both Reed Lucas and Jarvis Calhoun both drilled four triples in the first half and each had 12 first-half points. The Eagles limited the duo to a made three each in the second half.
Calhoun led the Bears with 17 points, he finished 5-of-9 from distance. Thomas added 16 while Lucas had 15. Djibril Diallo rounded out the Bears double-digit scorers with 14.
The Eagles close out the fall semester Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Limestone. Coverage for the game starts at 6:45 on the Eagles Sports Network with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
