C-N sets sights on SAC tournament title
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (15-5) takes aim at its fourth South Atlantic Conference tournament crown when it plays Queens (16-4) in the final game of the Pilot/Flying J SAC Basketball Championship Sunday at 4 p.m. at top-seeded and 17th-ranked Queens and Curry Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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40 | 48 | 88 |
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41 | 38 | 79 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (15-5) takes aim at its fourth South Atlantic Conference tournament crown when it plays Queens (16-4) in the final game of the Pilot/Flying J SAC Basketball Championship Sunday at 4 p.m. at top-seeded and 17th-ranked Queens and Curry Arena.
"They have literally earned the opportunity to compete for a championship the hard way," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "That mess we watched in Hartsville back in November, this isn't the same team. The evolution of this thing has been amazing."
The Eagles used a lay-up from Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) with six seconds left to knock out Tusculum 60-59 in the semifinals Thursday. Queens rolled in an 88-67 romp of fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne to make the title game for the fourth time in five years.
Carson-Newman is searching for its fourth SAC title. The Eagles are 3-1 in title games. C-N took down top-seeded Lincoln Memorial 63-48 as a two seed in 2015. As a one seed, the Eagles rolled past second-seeded Wingate to win the 2002 crown 76-62. Fifth-seeded Carson-Newman handed second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne a 79-64 loss in 1994. The Eagles only title game loss came in 1999 as a four seed. Third-seeded Catawba handed the Eagles a 78-75 defeat in overtime.
A three seed hasn't won a SAC title since Wingate downed Lincoln Memorial, the top seed in the 2013 tournament, 69-53.
The Royals enter the SAC title game winners of seven straight. The Royals are tied with Belmont Abbey for the region's second-longest active win streak and the country's 11th longest. The Royals last lost on Feb. 3 to Lincoln Memorial 77-63 in Harrogate.
Queens hasn't lost at home since Dec. 5, 2020 - their home opener - in an 80-71 defeat to Wingate.
Carson-Newman hasn't beaten Queens since Feb. 23, 2015 in an 87-62 triumph in Cu
Carson-Newman has the league's top scoring defense - averaging 64.7 points allowed per game, a figure that ranks 11th nationally. Carson-Newman boasts the league's best field goal percentage defense - opponents shoot 38.8 percent from the field, a figure that also is third nationally. The Eagles have the country's top field goal percent- age defense among teams that have played double-digit games.
Carson-Newman has held 10 of its last 15 foes to below 40 percent shooting. Tusculum and Catawba are the only teams to shoot better than 45 percent from the field on the Eagles. • Part of the Eagles defensive standing comes from shot blocking. Carson-Newman leads the SAC and ranks eighth nationally with 4.6 blocks per game. If the season were to end today, Carson-Newman would set a new school record for average shots blocked per contest. Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) has reset the Eagles' single-season record with 61.
"I don't want to reflect too deeply because we still have business to do," Benson said. "It's evident we have low ego, team-first, trustworthy guys who want to do their jobs at a high level. It's the norm with this team this year."
Carson-Newman takes aim at an 11th straight win. The Eagles are on their 11th double-digit win streak in school history. Winning 11 straight games would match the eighth-longest win streaks in school history, set in 1960-61, 1961-62 and 1969-70. Six of the Eagles 11 double-digit win streaks came in the 1960s. This is Carson-Newman's second double-digit win streak as a member of NCAA Division. Carson-Newman made the Sweet 16 the last time it put together double-digit wins, when the Eagles won 19 straight in 2001-02.
Carson-Newman owns the country's seventh-longest active win streak.
Carson-Newman is looking to snap a 17-game losing streak to ranked opposition. LMU registers as C-N's last ranked win. The Eagles downed the Railsplitters, then ranked sixth in the country 111-109, on Nov. 12, 2016. Carson-Newman has four wins all-time against top-10 teams with Chuck Benson as head coach, and seven wins all-time under Benson against ranked opposition, third most in the conference behind Josh Schertz at LMU and Bart Lundy at Queens.
"We're going to do what we've been doing," Benson said. "There will be no changes. There will be no trickery. From a scouting standpoint, anyone we play at this point is going to know exactly what we are going to do."
Tipoff from Charlotte is set for 4 p.m. Sunday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
Team Stats
#17/16 Queens
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | #17/16 Queens |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (32-57) | (29-65) |
| Field Goal % | 56.1% | 44.6% |
| Rebounds | 32 | 33 |
| Assists | 17 | 16 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 15 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 17 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 12 | 9 |
| Pts in the Paint | 44 | 36 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 16 | 9 |
| Bench Pts | 24 | 11 |
