VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-7, 8-6 South Atlantic Conference) went a season-worst 5-of-25 from three-point range and were unable to keep pace with a torrid second half from Wingate (7-7, 5-6 SAC) as the visitors prevailed Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
"We really struggled to make shots today," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "I have elite confidence in our shot-making. I've seen it over and over and over again. I have to give credit to Wingate. They defended us well a lot, but I still think we got some good looks, and they just didn't go down tonight. I thought we would come out with a great deal of firepower in the second half after getting some great looks in the first, and it just wasn't there. Our lack of making shots was critical, on the flip of it, I thought Wingate's shot-making was really good. I've not seen the shot charts, but I thought that there were a lot of difficult, long and difficult twos that, credit to them, they made them."
The offensive swoon came after a four-game stretch where the Eagles were making 14.25 threes per game on a 52 percent clip. C-N, which has led the nation in three-point field goal percentage the last two seasons, hasn't made five threes in a game at below 30 percent since going 4-for-18 from deep in a 58-56 loss to Columbus State on Dec. 2, 2022.
It marked the first time all season C-N lost a halftime lead. The Eagles used a 13-3 run around the halftime break to lead by four at the half and extend the edge to seven, 45-38 with the opening bucket of the second half. After a first half featured eight ties and eight lead changes, Wingate swapped the lead for a ninth and final time with a 17-5 run and never looked back.
All five starters for Wingate finished in double figures. The SAC's leading scorer Kendall Taylor came within spitting distance of a triple double. He finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Jordan Miller became the first opposing player to produce a double-double in points and assists since Lenoir-Rhyne's Jonathan Jean on Dec. 2, 2018. Miller had 10 points and 11 boards.
Aaron Hall finished with 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting, while three-point marksmen Corbin Pack and Mike Erbeck finished with 13 and 12, respectively.
C-N limited Wingate to 34.9 percent shooting in the first half, but the Bulldogs found the bottom of the barrel at a 61.3 percent clip after halftime. Meanwhile, the script flipped for C-N. The Eagles shot 51.7 percent in the first half, before being limited to 36.7 percent shooting after halftime. Wingate outscored C-N 49-31 in the second half.
John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) paced the Eagles with 22 points. Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) added in 16, while Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) had 15.
Wingate outscored C-N 23-2 in points off turnovers, and 19-8 in second chance points. The Bulldogs had a 16-9 edge in turnovers and a 16-12 advantage in offensive boards.
C-N hits the road to Burt Stanford Arena Wednesday to take on Mars Hill. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
