Eagles Suffer 93-81 Setback Against Wingate

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men’s basketball team dropped its third-straight game with a 93-81 loss to Wingate on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.

The Eagles (6-8, 1-3 SAC) lost despite having six players reach double figures in scoring and shooting 57.7 percent (30-of-52) from the floor.

“Wingate is a good basketball team,” C-N head coach Daley Clayton said. “They made tough shots, and we started off sluggish. If we had any misses, we had them early in the game because we ended up shooting 56 percent in the first half. The key was they only had three turnovers in the first half and controlled the boards, and that helped them build a big lead.”

Sophomore forward Quinche Dowdell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) paced C-N with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and a 3-for-5 effort at the charity stripe.

Dowdell has been one of the Eagles most consistent scorers in their last four contests, averaging nearly 12 points per game.

“He’s worked a lot on his shot at the free-throw line and out front,” Clayton said of Dowdell. “I’ve been telling him that he’s a good shooter. He keeps telling me that he’s never shot that shot much before and that he needs to get used to taking it. That’s one of his strengths, but he’s just got to get used to doing it.”

Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) tossed in 15 points and dished out six assists, while Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.) and Erwin Staten (Huntsville, Ala.) pitched in 12 points apiece and Darron Maxtion (Huntsville, Ala.) and Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) added 10 each in the loss.

The Bulldogs (10-5, 3-1) scored at a 55.6 percent (35-of-63) clip and were led by freshman forward Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.), who fired in a game-high 18 points.

Larry Staley (Charlotte, N.C.) netted 16 points, while Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) tossed in 13.

Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.

Matilus opened the contest by drilling a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish.

Wingate pushed its lead to 35-16 by the 7:31 mark of the first half and it carried a 50-36 advantage into the locker room.

The Eagles scrapped back in the second half as they went on an 11-4 run during the first four minutes capped off by a 3-point play from Dowdell that trimmed Wingate’s lead to 54-47.

But the Bulldogs put the game out of reach by outscoring C-N 21-10 over the next eight minutes. Bradley Van Staalduinen (Pantego, N.C.) finished off the run with a layup with 8:45 remaining to give Wingate a 75-57 advantage.

C-N was unable to cut the Bulldogs’ lead below double digits the rest of the way.

The Eagles return to the hardwood on Saturday at South Atlantic Conference rival Tusculum. The Eagles and Pioneers are scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. in Greeneville, Tenn.