Clark nets D2CCA All-Region First Team honors
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Carson-Newman junior guard Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) has tallied up another postseason accolade with his inclusion on the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Southeast Region First Team.
VIDEO: Charles Clark Interview
Clark, the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, is the only non-senior on the first team.
Clark was a three-time SAC Player of the Week, three-time Tennessee Sports Writer's Association State Player of the Week and the only player in the country to be named US Basketball Writer's Association Player of the Week twice this season.
"He's very deserving of this honor," head coach Chuck Benson said. "And it's based on his performance. I would go as far to say that he performed as well as anyone in the nation, and did so consistently. I know he'll be hungry to continue to grow and improve upon the successes of this season."
The junior averaged 21.9 points per game and has scored 658 points this season. It's the seventh best scoring season in the history of the South Atlantic Conference and the best individual scoring effort for an Eagle since Carson-Newman moved to Division II. He is the league's scoring champ for 2016-17. The junior made 170 free throws this season, which registers as the seventh best figure in conference history.
The high water mark for Clark came in the final week of the regular season. The Murfreesboro, Tenn.-native tallied up the highest scoring triple-double in the history of basketball (NCAA or NBA) while resetting both the Carson-Newman and South Atlantic Conference single-game scoring records against Coker on Feb. 25.
Clark poured in 54 points to bypass Ish Sanders (51 points versus Mars Hill in 2011) for the Carson-Newman record and RJ McLure (52 points versus Anderson in 2014) for the South Atlantic Conference mark. He also turned in 11 points and 12 assists for his third triple-double in as many home games.
Clark is the seventh player in NCAA history and the first at the Division II level with back-to-back triple-doubles.
The junior guard was 16-for-27 from the field and 7-for-14 from three-point range. He canned 15 of his 16 free throw attempts on the day – all career highs
Clark's 54-points may be the most points that have ever been scored in a triple-double in the history of basketball. All other games that the Carson-Newman Sports Information Department are aware of happened in the NBA. James Harden has produced a pair of 50-point triple-doubles this season for the Houston Rockets this year, topping out at 53 points on New Year's Eve against the Knicks.
Oscar Robertson had 39 points for Cincinnati as a part of a triple-double in a 98-85 win over Louisville in the 1959 NCAA tournament.
Clark also breaks Chris Jones' 56-year-old Carson-Newman record for points in a half. Clark had 36 in the second, besting Jones' 33 from a 1961 game against Emory & Henry.
His other two triple doubles came against Brevard and Lenoir-Rhyne. He had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against the Tornados, a touch better than his 24-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist effort against L-R.
The junior saw a 52-game streak scoring double-figures come to an end earlier this season. However, since then, Clark posted 11 straight double-digit scoring efforts. He's topped 20 seven times since then and 30 on three occasions. Clark has 17, 20-point games this season and has handed out five assists on eight occasions. The Eagles are unbeaten when he does that.
Clark ranks in the top 10 in the SAC in every statistical category except offensive rebounds, person fouls, and blocks.
With his selection to the first team, Clark advances to the CCA All-America ballot. The CCA All-America team will be announced later this month.
