VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Jack Browder Interview
VIDEO: Ben Beeker Interview
ANDERSON, S.C. – Carson-Newman (7-2, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference) torched the nets to the tune of 55 percent shooting, while weathering a torrid night from Anderson (5-6, 0-3 SAC) en route to a 94-81 win Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
The win is Carson-Newman's third straight over Anderson in the Abney Center. C-N shot 55 percent from the field on the road for the first time since burying 57.6 percent of its shots at Wingate on Feb. 18, 2023.
"This is a really great environment, this place was packed even though it was Christmas break," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They had distinct home court advantage. But credit to our guys for their attention to detail and the execution of our scout. We've had back-to-back games now where we have had a really strong mental toughness."
Carson-Newman trailed for much of the first half before utilizing a 10-0 run over the final three minutes of the first half to carry a 42-34 lead into the halftime locker room. Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) sparked the surge with a triple and capped it with a baseline jumper.
C-N had to take a dandy of a punch out of the halftime locker room. The Trojans scored on every possession they had through the first eight minutes of the second half, and yet, AU couldn't make a dent in the lead. While the Trojans made eight straight twos and six free throws without missing to open the second, Carson-Newman fired punch for punch with four made threes and four offensive boards. By the time Anderson missed its first shot of the second half, a three from AJ Wright with 11:58 to play, the Eagles had stretched their halftime lead to 11, 67-56. The Trojans would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Carson-Newman limited the conference third-leading scorer, Garrett Denbow, to eight points on 3-of-8 shooting. He came in averaging 19.5 a night. While Denbow struggled to get going, Austin Webb had a career night, knocking down 8-of-10 shots for a career-high 18.
"This was truly what the scout was," Benson said. "We know who the people were who we wanted to impact, and we knew who the people were that we wanted to entice. Our guys stayed committed for 40 minutes and had the mental fortitude to stay with it even when we were getting scored on."
Anderson shot 58.1 percent from the field after halftime and 52.5 percent for the game. However, the Trojans were just 7-of-21 from beyond the arc and 10-of-14 from the line. Meanwhile, Carson-Newman scorched the nets. Carson-Newman canned 12-of-21 threes (57.1 percent), including 5-of-8 after halftime. Additionally, the Eagles made 16-of-22 free throws.
Carson-Newman dominated the glass, especially in the second half. The Eagles were +13 for the game, 38-23 on the glass. However, C-N outrebounded the Trojans 20-7 in the second half.
The Eagles' four horsemen – the quartet of Browder, Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.), John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) – was nigh unstoppable.
The quartet combined for 75 points, led by dueling 21-point nights for Browder and Zhao.
Browder tallied his fourth double-double of the year and his third in the last four games with 11 boards.
"We call him Junkyard for a reason," Benson said. "He competes. He competes. And he competes. There's no softness in him."
Browder was 8-for-15 from the field and 2-of-3 from three. Zhao was the more efficient of the pair. He made 8-of-11 shots and 3-of-4 threes.
The 20-point nights are the eighth of Zhao's career and the fourth of Browder's.
Brenegan turned in a second-straight game with at least five made threes. He went 5-of-9 from deep to go with two made threes to finish with 17 points. Hubbard added in 16 points and a game-high four assists.
Ben Beeker (Hendersonville, N.C.) rounded out C-N's double-digit scorers with 10 points off the bench. He didn't miss on four shot attempts.
For Anderson, outside of Webb's 18, the Trojans got double-digit scoring efforts from AJ Wright (13 points on 5-of-8 shooting) and Jackson Greco (11 points on 4-of-7 shooting).
Carson-Newman turned it over 14 times to 10 for AU, however, the Eagles scored off all 10 of Anderson's turnovers and had a 21-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Eagles gave up just four offensive boards en route to an 11-2 margin in second chance points.
Carson-Newman wraps up the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule Tuesday against Tennessee Wesleyan. Tipoff with the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available through FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMBB.
