VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (17-10, 14-9 South Atlantic Conference) suffered through a 3:11 scoring drought late in the second half and seventh-ranked Lincoln Memorial (23-3, 20-3 SAC) rolled off a 9-0 run to stiff arm the Eagles 78-70 Wednesday night in Holt Fieldhouse.
The final margin belied an up-and-down game that featured 12 ties and 13 lead changes, the most in a Carson-Newman game this season.
"Congrats go the Railsplitters," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They ended with a bang and we got exactly what we deserved. We gave them opportunities and they capitalized on our mistakes. There late in this game, we had certain possessions where we had defensive blunders that led to wide-open shot opportunities. When that's going on, you better counter with some points. I thought we did that to some degree, but it was ultimately a little too much to overcome."
The Eagles led 61-57, their biggest lead of the game, with 6:11 left following a pair of Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) free throws and a Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) hook shot.
Carson-Newman wouldn't score again until the 2:57 mark. In the interim, Matthew Sells drilled back-to-back threes and Chase Rankin hit a floater to turn the Eagles four-point lead into a five-point deficit. The swing marked the first time that either team had led by more than three since the 5:49 mark of the first half.
The loss spoiled a hot crowd in Holt Fieldhouse. A total of 1,320 fans watched the game – the second four-digit crowd of the season – and featured a student section clad in all black that was boisterous and on its feet for the full 40 minutes.
"I said this after we lost to Tusculum, and I say it again," Benson said. "Nobody cares if you say you're sorry and don't do anything about it. The crowd was fantastic tonight. To the coaches, to the students and to the local community who came out to support us. I'm sorry we didn't deliver. Hopefully, at some point we'll figure out how to do that and honor their commitment to come support us against the upper crust of this league."
Lincoln Memorial shot 58.1 percent from the field after halftime and canned 5-of-12 second-half threes. LMU hit 4-of-5 threes in the final eight minutes of the game, including two apiece for Sells and Alex Dahling.
"Some of the shots that were coming were based on our inability to correctly defend either the personnel – the individual – or to defend the action," Benson said. "When we sit there and don't identify a Dahling or a Sells and let them get clean looks – that's on us. When we see the same action, an outside step-up ball screen, and we don't respond the correct way, we get exposed, and they capitalized. You give old, fat Chuck Benson a wide-open layup, he's going to make that open layup. If old fat Chuck Benson is going to do it, Jordan Guest is definitely going to do it. It goes back to me. Obviously, we didn't have them prepared to do it for 40 and in winning time."
In spite of the defensive woes, Carson-Newman shot 48.5 percent on LMU after halftime – the Eagles first half of basketball shooting better than 35 percent against the Railsplitters this season.
"Offensively, I thought we did a good job of attacking and getting in the paint," Benson said. "We did have a level of follow through from an offensive stand point. It just wasn't enough in the face of what we did defensively. You can't give up a three on one end and get a two on the other. They had way too many of those looks from their preferred shooters."
EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and Davis paced Carson-Newman with 15 apiece. Luke Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) posted 12 points to go along with five assists and a career-high five steals.
Thomas rounded out C-N's quartet of double-digit scorers with 10 points and eight boards.
Five Railsplitters finished in double figures. Guest led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The Boston transfer had 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting after halftime.
Sells scored 16 on 5-of-8 shooting from three. Jordan Walters, Alex Dahling and Chase Rankin followed with 12, 11 and 10, respectively. Rankin came within spitting distance of his third triple double of the season with eight assists and six boards.
Carson-Newman wraps up the regular season Saturday at Coker. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 p.m. with a 4 p.m. tip from Hartsville on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
