JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Holt Fieldhouse sprung a leak in the middle of a frog-strangler, and play was suspended early in the second half of Carson-Newman's men's basketball game with Mars Hill.
Play will resume at a date to be determined with 13:04 to play in the second half and Carson-Newman leading the Lions 56-44. Mars Hill will have possession of the basketball. A rash of heavy thunderstorms and rain overwhelmed the drainage systems on Holt Fieldhouse's roof, causing moisture to drip and puddle onto the playing service along one of the baselines in the venerated 61-year-old facility.
The Eagles bounded out to a 22-point halftime lead, C-N's second largest halftime margin of the season before Mars Hill started to make some inroads into the deficit by the time an uncommon deluge of rain and a leaky roof halted play.
C-N used a 22-4 run in the first half to build its bulge. After Mars Hill cut a C-N lead down to two, 13-11, with 13:31 to play in the opening stanza, C-N exploded. Malik Abraham (Snellville, Ga.) hit successive threes, then Nick Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) drilled another long-range jumper to turn C-N's two-point advantage into a double-digit edge in a matter of 1:22.
The lead peaked at 22 at the break when Grant Teichmann (Brentwood, Tenn.) scooped in a layup with 44 seconds left in the half.
However, it was Mars Hill who dominated the early portion of the second half. The Lions scored the first 11 of the second half thanks to some shoddy ball control from C-N. The Eagles turned it over four times in the first 2:36 of the period. Javonte Cook turned in a pair of fast break buckets off steals, while Ja'Shawn Brooks flipped one in as well.
C-N stretched the lead back to 17, 53-36, with 15:36 to play on a Bates lay-in before the Lions scored eight straight to get the lead down to single digits on back-to-back Brooks threes from the head of the key.
Teichmann had the final salvo from C-N before the rains came with a corner three.
Brooks leads all scorers with 19 points, including 12 in the second half. Bates has 12 to pace the Eagles. Abraham, Teichmann and Parker Role' (Atlanta, Ga.) all have eight.
Carson-Newman is back at it Saturday against Coker. Tipoff with the Cobras is set for 4 p.m. Coverage of the contest will be available on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 3:45 p.m. with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.