BANNER ELK, N.C. – Down two starting guards, Carson-Newman (0-2) bogged down offensively and couldn't keep pace with King (2-0) Saturday at Williams Gym in a 93-74 loss to the Tornado.
The Eagles were without Tennessee State transfer Tripp Davis (Nolensville, Tenn.) due to an injury in Friday's game against Lees-McRae and Jaylan McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) who left the King game after nine minutes with an injury.
In their absence Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Jordan Floyd exploded for 34 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including a 4-of-9 effort from long range.
"Floyd could not be guarded," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "He took and made tough contested shots. It certainly did not help not having Tripp and Jaylan. Even with the injuries, we got multiple players significant minutes. I think Richard Henderson and Bryant Thomas got the most from it. There was some positive and productive time on the floor for us to continue to grow as a team."
McGill left the game late in the first half with his injury and C-N down by three. In his absence, King would outscore C-N 9-4 over the rest of the half to take a 46-38 lead into the halftime locker room.
C-N kept the lead around nine in the opening moments of the second half before King rattled off a 10-1 run to stretch the lead to 21, 73-52, on back-to-back threes from Josh Releford with 10:21 to play in the game.
With the loss, Carson-Newman starts 0-2 for the first time since the 2014-15 season. That year, the Eagles went on to win a SAC tournament title and appear in the NCAA tournament.
Floyd was one of four double-digit scorers to pace the Tornado. James Brown dropped 15 with 3-of-8 shooting from distance. Damion Ottman had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Releford added in 11.
King shot 46 percent from the field and knocked down 14-of-36 triples (38.9 percent). Meanwhile, the Eagles struggled to make shots.
Carson-Newman only made 37.1 percent of its shots and went 5-for-21 from three (23.8 percent).
After turning it over 20 times in the opener against Lees-McRae, the Eagles only coughed it up 12 times against a Tornado team that pressured C-N full court for the majority of the game.
For a second straight game, EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) led C-N in scoring. He had 15 points and eight boards. Richard Henderson (Maryland Heights, Mo.) added in 13 points.
Carson-Newman opens the doors to Holt Fieldhouse Wednesday against Shorter at 7:00 p.m. The Eagle Sports Network is on the 15 minutes prior to tipoff with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
