Eight-minute field goal drought dooms Eagles on senior day versus Wingate

Carson-Newman (19-7, 12-6 SAC) went without a field goal over an eight-minute span in the second half while Wingate (18-8, 14-4 SAC) went on an 18-4 run to spoil the Eagles senior day with a 63-52 win.

The win puts Carson-Newman in the four seed in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Basketball Tournament. The Eagles face the fifth seed Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.

With the win, Wingate secured the three seed and a first round home date with Newberry.

“Wingate is one of the top teams in the league,” Carson-Newman head men’s basketball coach Chuck Benson said. “There’s a reason why they were playing for the SAC regular season championship last Saturday, there’s a reason why they were in the NCAA tournament last year.”

Wingate thwarted Carson-Newman to its worst half of basketball statistically all season in the second half. C-N shot 7-for-27 for the second half (25.9 percent), the only time all year where the Eagles had been held below 30 percent shooting for a half.

Antoine Davis (Rustburg, Va.) led C-N with 19 points while Cody Henegar (South Pittsburg, Tenn.) added 12.

The score was identical to the first game this season, a 63-52 Eagle win at Wingate’s Cuddy Arena.

Carson-Newman closes the regular season with back-to-back losses for only the second time all season.

The Eagles play host to L-R Wednesday in the opening round of the SAC tournament. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. with pregame coverage at 6:45 p.m. on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff on ESPN Radio 106.3 The Zone (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com.

Source: Adam Cavalier Director of Athletic Communications Carson-Newman University