Eagles Soar Past Newberry, 85-54, for First South Atlantic Conference Win

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men’s basketball team shot a season-high 60.8 percent from the floor to pull away from Newberry for an 85-54 victory on Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 6-5 on the season and 1-1 in the conference. Newberry falls to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in SAC play.

“The important thing is we held serve at home in the conference,” C-N head coach Dale Clayton said. “To win our first home conference game is just really big for our guys. It gives us a lot of confidence. We needed it because we have a tough game coming up on Tuesday at North Carolina A&T.”

The Eagles, who have shot 50 percent or better in their last three contests, were 31-of-51 from the floor, including a 14-of-22 effort in the second half.

“We have been very efficient offensively in our last few games,” Clayton said. “We made shots when we were open and we had some guys that came through with their best game of the year. With all those guys playing well at the same time, it made us a hard team to beat.”

C-N played the entire contest in a matchup zone defense and held its second-straight opponent to 32.8 percent (20-of-61) shooting, including just 25 percent (8-of-32) from 3-point range.

Clayton said his squad’s effort on the defensive end has been key in winning the last two games by a combined 50 points.

“The matchup zone was outstanding,” Clayton offered. “It’s the first time that I can remember us playing an entire game without one possession of man defense. We are just getting better in the matchup zone, and as the year goes along, we can get even better.”

Sophomore forward Quinche Dowdell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) tossed in 15 points to lead five Eagles in double figures. Guards Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) and J.J. Wesley (Mobile, Ala.) netted 14 points apiece, center Brandon Evans (Salem, Va.) added 13 and forward Darron Maxtion (Huntsville, Ala.) chipped in 10 points in the win.

Sharp also dished out six assists and grabbed five boards. Wesley pulled down seven rebounds, and Evans finished with six rebounds and two blocks.

Ray Robinson (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Danny Huffor (Marco Island, Fla.) paced Newbery with 10 points apiece.

The Eagles opened the contest on fire and built a 30-12 lead by the 8:48 mark of the first half.

A dunk by Evans with 15 seconds left gave C-N its biggest lead of the half at 44-20, but Coleman Young (Spartanburg, S.C.) drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds left to trim the Eagles lead to 44-23 heading into the locker room.

C-N continued to pulled even further away from Newberry to open the second half, as Maxtion made a layup on C-N’s opening possession to spark a 17-8 run that gave the Eagles a 61-31 lead with 13:18 remaining.

The Eagles never let their lead fall below 27 points and they led by as many as 35 points late in the contest.

C-N returns to action on Tuesday at North Carolina A&T. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro, N.C.