VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Luke Brenegan Interview
VIDEO: Joshuwa Butts Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
ANDERSON, S.C. – Luke Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) cashed in a corner three with a minute three and buried four free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the deal for Carson-Newman (2-3, 2-3 South Atlantic Conference) at Anderson (1-3, 1-3 SAC) in a 72-66 win for the Eagles Saturday at the Abney Center.
The junior finished with a season-best and team-high 17 points in pacing the Eagles in a see-saw affair.
"Anytime you can go away from home, it's just going to be a greater challenge," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Our guys came in here today and showed a level of resiliency and determination with a finishing power that I'm very proud of."
The Trojans had grabbed a 64-63 lead with 2:22 to play following a high-arcing Satchel Hester three. The next possession EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) countered to give C-N the lead with a layup that he smooched off the glass.
Carson-Newman got a stop the next possession setting the stage for Brenegan's bucket.
"You gotta look at the history," Benson said. "He's a 40 plus percent three-point shooter in his time here. Luke knows that I've got confidence and complete trust in him. EJ drove and kicked it out to him. That was the right decision. Even if he missed it it would have been the right decision. He knocked it down though, because that's in his DNA."
After getting the ball at the top of the key, Bush dived down the right side of the lane before finding Brenegan naked in the corner for the triple.
"I had been missing shots all game," Brenegan said. "Coach was still feeding me confidence. EJ drove and my man collapsed on him. He got me the ball with an open look and shot it with confidence. It's always going to be harder to shoot on the road. To have that confidence from your coaches that they want shooters keep shooting is big."
Quin Nottingham cut the lead back to two after a runner with 23 seconds left for AU, but Brenegan was able to bury a quartet of free throws in the final 10 seconds to cement the win for C-N.
The Eagles shot a season-best 50 percent from the field in spite of a season-low 3-for-11 effort from long range. Carson-Newman dominated inside, outscoring Anderson 48-20 in the paint.
C-N was 16-for-28 from the field after halftime (57.1 percent).
@BreneganLuke called game for @CN_Hoops in Anderson pic.twitter.com/jru2ARk6hv
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) January 9, 2021
Brenegan was one of four Eagles in double digits. Bush and Ren Dyer (Weaversville, N.C.) both added 14 points in efficient fashion. Bush was 7-of-13 from the field while Dyer went 6-for-10 and 2-for-3 from deep. Bush had three boards, three assists and three steals to finish his stat sheet stuffing.
Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) nearly missed out on his second career double-double with 13 points and nine boards. He led C-N with three steals.
In his second career game, Joshuwa Butts (Fairburn, Ga.) produced eight points and four blocks.
"That was a guy who more than held his own today," Benson said. "He is such a high character, low maintenance winner. I know he is going to do the right things on and off the court. To see him do what he did today, I'm not the least bit surprised."
Crosby James and Satchel Hester paced Anderson and primarily from beyond the arc. Crosby had 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and a 5-of-7 effort from beyond the arc. James had 18 points in the first half after knocking down the first five threes he took. However, the Eagles limited him to three points after halftime.
Eagles break a 2-game skid to @AUTrojansMBB. @BreneganLuke leads the way with season-high 1⃣7⃣@CN_Hoops are back at home this Wednesday against Catawba. pic.twitter.com/309ueKBvu6
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) January 9, 2021
Hester had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 5-of-8 marker from three.
Anderson shot 39.7 percent from the field, the fourth foe this year that Carson-Newman has held below 45 percent shooting. Without Hester and James, the Trojans were 12-of-40 (30 percent) from the field.
Quin Nottingham, who averaged 25.5 points per game last year against C-N, was limited to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting. He did hand out seven assists.
Carson-Newman won the rebounding battle for a third straight game. The Eagles had 39 boards to the Trojans 33.
Carson-Newman returns to Holt Fieldhouse for the first time since Dec. 2 when it takes on Catawba Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 5:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
