Bush, Dyer earn preseason All-SAC honors

Posted: Nov 01, 2021

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Reigning SAC Freshman of the Year Ren Dyer and SAC Tournament MVP EJ Bush have been named to the preseason All-South Atlantic Conference second team, the league office announced Monday morning.

"We talk a lot about the team," Benson said. "And the sacrifices for the team. Invdividual accomplishments go along with team success. We're focused on each other and the journey we are taking together. Any accolades earned in preseason, though nice, I think these guys are so much more about the team and what we can accomplish, as opposed to any individual recognition."

Carson-Newman's leading scorer, Bush averaged 13.0 points per game after starting all 22 contests for the Eagles. Bush scored in double digits in 17 contests including six straight to close the year. He produced a trio of 20-point efforts including a season-high 23 in the SAC tournament semifinals at Tusculum (3/4).

Bush also produced a pair of double-doubles on the year, going for 10 points and 10 boards at Tusculum (1/6) before turning in a 16-point, 10-rebound game at Catawba (2/6). He snared a season-high five offensive boards that game. Bush averaged 4.8 boards per game for the year to rank second on the team. He led C-N in rebounding in three games while being C-N's top scorer in six. Carson-Newman was 5-1 in games in which Bush was the leading scorer.

"I'm honored to receive this award," Bush said. "As you know, preseason means nothing. We're looking for that end goal. This team is special and everyone on this team brings special to the table."

He earned SAC tournament MVP honors and TSWA State Player of the Week honors following his performance in the SAC Basketball Championships. The Oak Ridge, Tenn., native netted 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four boards, two assists and four steals versus Wingate in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

The senior followed that with 23 points (11-of-18 field goals), five rebounds and three assists at Tusculum for his third 20-point game of the season. Bush collected 15 points and four boards in the championship game at Queens, helping Carson-Newman win its first SAC Tournament title since 2015. The senior averaged 17.3 points per game for the week while shooting 56 percent from the field. The award was the first weekly honor of Bush's career.

Dyer became the first Eagle to earn freshman of the year honors from the South Atlantic Conference. Not even Ish Sanders (Keon Moore from Catawba won in 2011) nor Charles Clark (Jerrin Morrison from Catawba won in 2015) earned the honor. Dyer has done things no other freshman has done in Carson-Newman history. Dyer became the first Eagle freshman with seven straight double-digit scoring efforts and the only freshman with three double-doubles in his first season at Mossy Creek.

"It's obviously an honor to be listed with this group of guys," Dyer said. "I think me and EJ will take big leaps this year and continue to grow."

Dyer averaged 11.6 points per game with 7.0 boards per game. He's third on the team in assists with 52, second in blocks with 19 and second in steals with 26. The Weaverville, N.C.-native led all freshmen in the league in scoring and rebounding. He was second among all first-year players in the conference in blocks and steals. Dyer became the first Carson-Newman freshman to score in double digits in seven consecutive games, doing so from Dec. 2, 2020 - Jan. 23, 2021. His teak came to a close at Lincoln Memorial when he had six in 29 foul-plagued minutes against the 'Splitters.

Dyer is just the third freshman to score in double digits in five straight games - joining Ish Sanders (six) and Charles Clark (five). Dyer produced a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double on Jan. 16 against Lenoir-Rhyne and followed it up with 11 points and 10 rebounds on Jan. 20 against Bluefield State. He is the first freshman in the Division II era to produce double-doubles in back-to-back games and the second freshman in the last 21 years with two double-doubles in a season.

The double-double against Lenoir-Rhyne is also the quickest a freshman has attained a double-double with Dyer doing it in his seventh career game. He added his third double-double against Anderson on Feb. 3. The North Buncombe product has shown a remarkable level of consistency all season long. His 11-point season-opening debut is the first double-digit debut by a freshman since Cam Andre's 10-point debut as a freshman against Lander in an 82-78 win on Nov. 10, 2017.

Dyer missed out on becoming the first freshman this century to score double-digits in the first two games of his career by a point. He had nine at Wingate. Dyer scored in double-digits in four of his first five games, the only freshman in the last 20 years to accomplish that. In fact, he is Carson-Newman's highest scoring freshman through five games since 2020 - one of five to average at least eight points per game through their first five contests.

On Jan. 19, Ren Dyer was lauded with the TSWA's State Player of the Week award. Dyer becomes the first Eagle to earn a player of the week honor since Grant Teichmann picked up a TSWA player of the week honor on Jan. 15, 2019. Dyer is the first freshman to win a weekly honor for C-N since Charles Clark on Feb. 9, 2015. He helped C-N to a 1-1 record with a 19-point stomping of Lenoir-Rhyne and a narrow one-point loss to No. 12 Queens. He averaged 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds for the pair of contests. Dyer's career high came on Feb. 10 at UVA Wise when he dropped 21 on 7-of-12 shooting from three.

Carson-Newman opens up the year Nov. 13 against Lees-McRae at 7 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 6:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on cneagles.com/live.

2021-22 SAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference

First Team

Trenton Gibson, Tusculum

Quandaveon McCollum, Newberry

Jarren Cottingham, Wingate

TJ Brown, Newberry

Kenny Dye, Queens

Jamari Smith, Queens

Second Team

Gavin Rains, Queens

James West IV, Tusculum

EJ Bush, Carson-Newman