VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: John Zhao Interview
VIDEO: Nick Brenegan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-0) and Lees-McRae (0-1) swapped turnovers on the first three possessions of the game, but then the Eagles quickly found their footing and exploded for a 16-3 run in the first five minutes of the game.
The Eagles never looked back, winning 108-75 in a wire-to-wire throttling of LMC Saturday evening at Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman drilled 16-of-28 threes, including 10 of the first 12 they took. The 16 triples are the seventh most in a single game in school history, while the 57.1 percent effort from long distance is the 10th best in school history.
"For one thing, it was really, really fun to play again," head coach Chuck Benson said. "I really like our team and what we've done in the preseason. We were just so eager to play somebody. The shot making, our guys spend a lot of time working on that. It's not a surprise based on how diligent they are at getting shots up."
Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) drilled a corner three before capping an 8-0 burst to open the game with another triple.
C-N surged to a 16-3 lead in the first five minutes of the contest behind back-to-back threes from Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ren Dyer (Weaverville, N.C.). Lees-McRae would get it back inside single digits just once, at 16-8 following a Timon Jones fast break lay-in. However, C-N responded with another 8-0 run to swell the edge out to 16 in just 82 seconds.
"This was the good old-fashioned offense versus defense styles make the fights matchup," Benson said. "We knew they are a prolific scoring team. But our guys were really determined to prove we have a sound defense. The reality is the lead was so great early that guys started playing free and easy – shooting with confidence and nothing to lose. Some of their shot-making as the game went on was above board."
Carson-Newman carried a 47-28 lead into the halftime break before tallying a 13-2 run to close the game to set the final margin at 108-75 – the biggest and final lead of the game.
The Eagles had 20 assists on 36 made shots. Meanwhile, C-N forced 17 turnovers, converting all 17 into points (34).
"It's a credit to us sharing the ball," sophomore guard Brenegan said. "We preached that in practice that when a guy is open to shoot it. We made the right passes and knocked them down."
The win marks the first time since Dec. 14, 2019 that Carson-Newman crested the 100-point threshold, the Eagles last did it in a 100-70 beating of Coker.
Carson-Newman also starts the year 1-0 for the first time since 2018-19 when C-N won five straight to open the year.
The game was not without flaws. Starting center Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) spent much of the game in foul trouble. However, he did finish with 15 points and five boards in 18 minutes.
"The guys know that I have confidence with every one of our players," Benson said. "We laughed at the fact that we have a very good problem. We have so many guys and don't have enough minutes to go around. When BT got into foul trouble, there wasn't a concern because we knew we had other guys who could do it."
✅ Seventh most threes in single-game history
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 14, 2021
✅ 10th best three-point percentage in school history.
✅ First triple-digit scoring night since December 2019@CN_Hoops was on one tonight. pic.twitter.com/PkLNx3QN9H
Davis led Carson-Newman with 17 points, one of five Eagles in double figures. Dyer came up a rebound shy of his fourth career double-double with 16 points and nine boards. He was 3-for-6 from deep.
EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers with 12 apiece. The younger Brenegan brother reset his career high with four threes made.
Freshman John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) came off the bench to knockdown a trio of triples to finish with nine in his Carson-Newman debut.
Carson-Newman finished shooting 59.7 percent from the field. Meanwhile, the Eagles limited Lees-McRae to 43.8 percent shooting. The Bobcats made 31.3 percent of their shots in the first half before finding some footing to knock down 56.3 percent of their shots and 54.5 percent of their threes after halftime.
Even with those quality offensive numbers, Carson-Newman still outscored Lees-McRae 61-47 after halftime, the first 60-point half for the Eagles since scoring 68 in the first half against Shorter two years ago to the day on Nov. 13, 2021.
Carson-Newman's 10 threes made in the first half are also the most since C-N knocked down nine in the first half against Queens on Jan. 11, 2020.
Jamarius Hairston led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Drew Gardner and London England each had 14 for LMC, while Jaylin Stewart rounded out the Bobcats double-digit scorers with 10 points off the bench.
Carson-Newman owned a 40-27 edge on the glass and outscored the Bobcats in the paint 40-27.
Opening day dub ✅
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 14, 2021
�� @CN_Hoops 108
�� @DunkMountain 75
Final pic.twitter.com/fMrJzESPvo
C-N returns to action Sunday at 4 p.m. against King. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
