Eagles withstand Bulldog rally, C-N advances to SAC semis behind block party
March 1, 2021

Eagles withstand Bulldog rally, C-N advances to SAC semis behind block party

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Third-seeded Carson-Newman (14-5) used a dominant defensive effort to keep a scrappy sixth-seeded Wingate (11-9) team at bay in a 64-57 win in the quarterfinals of the Pilot/Flying J SAC Men’s Basketball Championship Monday evening in Holt Fieldhouse.

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Ren Dyer Interview

VIDEO: Bryant Thomas Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Third-seeded Carson-Newman (14-5) used a dominant defensive effort to keep a scrappy sixth-seeded Wingate (11-9) team at bay in a 64-57 win in the quarterfinals of the Pilot/Flying J SAC Men's Basketball Championship Monday evening in Holt Fieldhouse.

The Eagles advance to the SAC semis to face second-seeded Tusculum, who rolled over Catawba 93-70. Tipoff from Pioneer Arena will be set for 7:30 p.m. 

The win is Carson-Newman's ninth straight, the second nine-game win streak for Carson-Newman in the NCAA Division II era and the 14th overall.  

Carson-Newman held the league's second-highest scoring offense 26 points below their season average while resetting the single-game school record for blocks. 

C-N redirected 11 Wingate shots, the most in school history and tied for the most in SAC tournament history. The Eagles matched Catawba's 11-rejection night from a quarterfinal contest with Newberry in 2005. 

"These guys have really tried to carve out an identity defensively," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We talk almost every day because your offense will come and go.  You can make life miserable for your opponent with your defense to give yourself a fighting chance.  Tonight it really did come down to our defense because of how we struggled to make shots and how we turned the ball over after halftime."

Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) tied the Eagles' single-game school record by an individual with six rejections. He had five in the first half alone before finishing with his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. 

"I was just trying to defend the rim and play good defense," Thomas said. "It was really just about playing solid defense tonight. They tried to get it inside and attack us. I just tried to time it up, and I was able tonight."

Ren Dyer (Weaverville, N.C.) added in three blocks while Joshuwa Butts (Fairburn, Ga.) and EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) each added in a block a piece to get to the single-game school record as a team.

"That was incredible effort by Bryant and Ren to not concede," Benson said. "That's really who they are as people. They want to fix the problem and correct the mistake. I'm thankful to work with guys who function that way."   

The block party obfuscated a furious Wingate rally.  Carson-Newman used a 16-2 first half run and a 7-0 burst to open the second half to take a 24-point lead with 17:54 to play following back-to-back turnaround Js from Thomas. 

"The truth is that we went in at halftime feeling really good," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Wingate has a bunch of tough competitors. They came out, punched us in the mouth and we struggled to make shots. We still continued to defend and rebound well enough to win."

The Eagles led by 17, 58-41 with 5:36 to play following a Tyler Bowens (Greenville, S.C.) layup.  Wingate surged on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to cut the deficit to six with 22 seconds left following a Miguel Priest corner three. 

However, Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) nailed a couple of free throws to put the game on ice for C-N. 

"We were a little rusty in the flow of our offense," Benson said. "It definitely didn't seem to be as in sync as it was when we played 11 days ago. I really and truly felt like I was trying to remind the guys that we needed to put another half together. I'm trying to give them an excuse so I won't be as upset about us.  The reality is the second half, Wingate was much better than they were in the first, and we were much worse. That made things interesting."

Davis and Bowens led Carson-Newman with 12 apiece.  Bowens was 6-for-7 from the floor and added in four boards. Davis doled out a game-high six assists and swiped three steals.

Bush also had 11 to give C-N four double-digit scorers. Dyer stuffed the stat sheet with six points, a career-high 12 boards, five assists, three blocks and three steals. 

Miguel Priest led Wingate with a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double.  Francis Sio added in 13 points and seven boards. He was 4-for-9 from the three, but 4-for-13 from the floor.

Carson-Newman limited Wingate to 31.1 percent shooting. The Bulldogs were 4-for-21 (19 percent) from inside the three-point stripe after halftime.  C-N held Wingate to season lows for points (57) and shooting (31.1 percent). Wingate becomes the fourth team that Carson-Newman has held below 36 percent shooting. 

Wingate became just the third team this season to outscore Carson-Newman in the second half. The Eagles were outscored by three after halftime by both Newberry and Queens. The Bulldogs were plus-10 after halftime. 

C-N was limited to 33.3 percent shooting after halftime and went just 1-for-10 from long range.  The Eagles finished 44.1 percent from the field. 

Carson-Newman dominated the glass, outrebounding Wingate 44-36. 

The Eagles continue their tournament voyage Thursday at Tusculum. Tipoff from Pioneer Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

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