VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: John Zhao Interview
EMORY, Va. – Emory & Henry had Carson-Newman beat.
The Wasps (4-14, 1-9 South Atlantic Conference) got a stop with six seconds left and canned two free throws to give themselves an 88-85 lead. However, Jack Browder (Sevierville, Tenn.) had other ideas.
Browder took a feed from Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) and canned a three off the window with .5 seconds left to force overtime. Carson-Newman (14-7, 7-3 SAC) would then roll in the OT session, going 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from deep to outscore the Wasps 18-11 in the bonus session for a 106-99 overtime win Wednesday night at the King Center.
"That team scared me to death because they had been wounded with some tough losses," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They were hungry with a blue out and had a good crowd. They had us. We hung around and Jack makes that shot. I guess we are living right. Congrats to our players, this was one of those games where we never got into a rhythm defensively. However, the opposite was true offensively."
The win is Carson-Newman's first in overtime in nearly six years. The Eagles had dropped four straight overtime contests dating back to an 89-79 win in OT at Lenor-Rhyne on Feb. 3, 2018.
The Eagles rewrote the record book with their shooting performance. C-N connected on 15-of-22 threes, 68.2 percent, for the highest three-point shooting percentage in school history for a game. The record bests a 22-year-old mark set against Lenoir-Rhyne in 2001 when C-N went 10-for-15 against the Bears.
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John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Browder did the bulk of the work from distance, combining to go 12-of-13 from deep. Browder didn't miss on four attempts. Zhao was a slightly more human 8-of-9 from deep. Zhao's eight threes are tied for the sixth-most in a game in school history. Zhao's 88.8 percent rate ties Ray Evans for the most efficient shooting night from deep in school history. Evans was also 8-for-9 from deep against Elon on Jan. 25, 1992.
"The players were so good about sharing," Benson said. To go 12-of-13 from three between two players is insane. We want them to be hungry and look for opportunities. Credit goes to the guys for the work they put in. Theres.no magic formula here. They just have that confidence."
Zhao put together a magic night. He finished with a career-high 38, the ninth highest-scoring game in school history. Zhao was hyper effective, making 15 shots on 17 attempts as well as the aforementioned record-setting efficiency from three.
"I love this team and it makes it easy when we have the trust and sharing of the ball that we have," Zhao said. "It's just fun out there. I put a lot of faith in Christ, and I'm thankful that I get any opportunity he gives me."
Zhao's 30-point night is the fourth 30-point night by an Eagle this season and Zhao's second. He had 31 against Milligan – his previous career high.
"He has two things," Benson said. "Elite confidence. He is a guy who is in the present and he doesn't let what happened the last possession rattle him. Then he's got Mary Zhao praying for him constantly at home."
Browder joined Zhao with a bonkers scoring night with 24-point night. He was 10-of-13 from the floor and the perfect 4-for-4 from three. Browder is the first player since Charles Clark (against King on Nov. 18, 2017) to take and make at least four threes in a game without missing.
Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) and Hubbard rounded out C-N's double-digit scorers. Brenegan had a quiet 19. He was 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from three. Hubbard had 18. He went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the overtime session.
Carson-Newman shot 58.8 percent from the field in route to its first 100-point outing on the road since opening night in 2019. The Eagles have scored more than 100 nine times this year, the most since moving to NCAA Division II.
Conversely, E&H made 46.2 percent of its shots and 34.4 percent of its threes. The Wasps were 11-of-32 from deep. E&H did the bulk of its work from deep in the first half, sinking 8-of-17. The Wasps were 3-of-15 from range after halftime.
Jalen Leftwich and Marshall Klug both led the Wasps with 21. It was a career-best night scoring for Klug. Jacob Dar followed with a 17-point night on 6-of-19 shooting. Gabe Brown added in 11.
Emory & Henry is the first team since Shorter on Nov. 13, 2019 to score more than 90 against Carson-Newman and lose. The Eagles kept intact their now 124-game streak of keeping opponents below 100 points.
The game was an instant classic, featuring 20 lead changes and nine ties, the most for C-N in a game this season. Neither team led by more than six in regulation.
"Right now here in the moment, we were able to win a road overtime game," Benson said. "We went with an abbreviated lineup late. Credit to our guys; can't give them enough credit."
Carson-Newman returns home to face off with Coker, the SAC's highest-scoring team. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 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 with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMbb.
