Carson-Newman Downs Queens 88-79 in SAC Pilot Flying J Championship
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
40 | 48 | 88 |
|
|
41 | 38 | 79 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | 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 |
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- (TheSAC.com)– The No. 3 seed Carson-Newman Eagles and the No. 1 seed Queens Royals kept fans on their toes with the Royals leading by just one after the first half. The Eagles ran away with the game towards the end of the second half to secure an 88-79 win and the SAC Pilot Flying J Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday (March 7). With the win, the Eagles improve to 16-5 on the year, while Queens falls to the same record of 16-15 as well.
The opening stanza was a back-and-forth battle that saw the Royals take a slim 41-40 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Eagles turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, holding Queens to just 44.6 percent shooting from the field, while hitting 56.1 percent of their own shots on the offensive end.
Carson-Newman turned up the defensive pressure to start the second half with a full-court press and turned 15 Queens turnovers on 38 points and an eventual tournament championship.
Leading the charge for the Eagles was SAC Freshman of the Year Ren Dyer, scoring a game-high 20 points and six rebounds, followed by tournament MVP EJ Bush's 15 points and four rebounds.
A trio of Royals netted double figures with Jamari Smith scoring 27 points, Quan McCluney pouring in 17 points and Kenny Dye garnering 13 points. Smith added eight rebounds, McCluney totaled seven and Dye added five.
Bush was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, with teammates Luke Brenegan and Ren Dyer earning All-Tournament honors. The full 2021 All-Tournament team is listed below.
Darius Simmons, Lenoir-Rhyne
Trenton Gibson, Tusculum
EJ Bush, Carson-Newman – MVP
Luke Brenegan, Carson-Newman
Ren Dyer, Carson-Newman
Kenny Dye, Queens
Jamari Smith, Queens
With the win, Carson-Newman earns the SAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship. The full bracket for the 2020 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball tournament will be released tonight (March 7) at 10 p.m. live on NCAA.com.