VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

HICKORY, N.C. – Carson-Newman (5-8, 2-5 SAC) coughed up three turnovers in the final 120 seconds to erase any chances of a late-game comeback in an 85-80 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne (7-5, 3-4 SAC) Wednesday night at Shuford Gym.

All three turnovers came with the Eagles down by a possession.  The loss marks the fifth this year for C-N by five or fewer points.

"I think we're making progress, but at times, we take a step backward at the same time we take a step forward," Benson said. "There late in winning time today, we had some critical turnovers when we were trying to get higher percentage looks on the offensive end.  We have to understand that we have to continue to be focused for 40 minutes and that focus has to be at another level when its late to be sound and secure with the ball.  It's a painful loss, no doubt."

Carson-Newman outshot Lenoir-Rhyne (52 percent shooting on 33 made baskets to 48.5 percent shooting on 32 made shots), had a +10 advantage on the glass, and shot/made more free throws at a more efficient clip than the Bears (nine made free throws to six).

However, the Bears knocked down 15-of-33 threes to make up the difference.

"You have to give credit to L-R in the second half," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Mason Hawks just absolutely went to the stratosphere in terms of shot-making for them. Credit to them because they performed well the second half."

Hawks shot-making ability was stupefying.  He went 9-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from three-point range to finish with a game-high 25 points.  He had 15 points after halftime, and his back-to-back threes, both from 26+ feet, with 5:44 to play in the second half gave Lenoir-Rhyne the lead for good.

"You had to be here to really appreciate what Hawks did in the second half," Benson said. "He stepped up and got tough shots off and knocked them down as an elite shooter.  One of the shots he made (his last three that gave L-R a 72-69 lead it wouldn't surrender), he was 28 feet away from the basket, dribbling backwards, fading away with Tripp Davis draped on him. Give him credit. He's an elite shooter.  I don't think there's a thing we could have done differently defensively on him."

Hawks got help from Darius Simmons, who finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting.  Carson-Newman did hamper the league's third leading scorer, RJ Gunn, to his first game of the season in single digits.  He had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. 

Lenoir-Rhyne used a 15-3 second half run to erase a 12-point deficit and grab a lead with 10 minutes to play.   The run came in a span where Carson-Newman made one shot in 10 minutes.  The lull was the yin to the yang of a first half where the Eagles made 16 of 23 shots inside the perimeter. 

"In this particular game, the collective second half inability to establish and inside scoring punch hurt us," Benson said. "The winning time carelessness with the ball hurt us, and we missed some bunnies that didn't fall.  We need to be more intentional in those two areas."   

Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) led C-N with 20 points and seven rebounds.  He is the first C-N player since Charles Clark to score 20 or more points in three consecutive games.  EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) followed suit with his sixth consecutive double-digit scoring effort.  He had 15 points and seven boards. 

Reece Anderson (Douglasville, Ga.) and Cameron Andre (Kissimmee, Fla.) each had 10, apiece. 

Carson-Newman returns home Saturday to face No. 23 Queens at 4 p.m. 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.