VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-6, 11-5 South Atlantic Conference) rallied from a 14-point second half deficit to take a lead late against Tusculum (11-11, 9-7 SAC), but couldn't hang on Wednesday night against the Pioneers in Holt Fieldhouse.
Tusculum prevailed 84-81 to split the season series with the Eagles.
The Pioneers built a 44-32 halftime lead as C-N struggled to maintain possession of the ball. C-N turned it over 12 times in the first half, and only shot 37.5 percent from the field and 3-of-10 from three.
"All games are won in the second half," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "The fact that we took a lead in the second erased any of the negativity from the first. They had some really good contests at the rim that impacted our shot-making in the first half. I have to give a lot of credit to Tusculum. They played well and made a lot of contested shots. They came in here and got a really good road win."
Carson-Newman closed the gap with an 8-0 run to get within three with 10:28 to play in the game after a Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) three.
C-N would stay within striking distance until taking a lead with 4:40 to play after back-to-back Hubbard paint buckets. The teams were tied three times and swapped leads three times in the final five minutes until Tusculum rattled off a 10-2 run to seize the game.
Hubbard matched his career high with his 27th point to give C-N its final lead, 76-74, with a free-throw line tear drop with 2:22 to play.
Tusculum answered with an Akeem Odusipe layup on the ensuing possession to knot the game again. C-N got a sensational look the next trip down the floor. Ben Beeker (Hendersonville, N.C.) passed up a paint-touch layup for a wide-open dagger three from the right point from Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.). However, the 40-percent three-point shooter's attempt was long and Tusculum snagged the rebound.
Jacob Hobbs ran the baseline for a jam to give TU a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Browder missed the front end of a one-and-one the next possession, just his third miss from the line inside of five minutes all season. Conor Jordan canned two free throws to make it at two possession game.
Jordan reset his career high for the Pioneers with 29 points. He was 12-of-18 from the field. He is just the third opposing leading scorer C-N has faced this season who has exceeded his scoring average against the Eagles' vaunted matchup zone. Jordan made all four of his free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds.
"He took the kind of shots that most nights, we'd prefer people take," Benson said. "Credit to him. He made them. They were highly contested shots. He didn't get clean looks, and yet he made them. He's clearly a hard worker and was a big part of what they did offensively tonight."
Bryce Jackson was the only other player in double-digits for the Pioneers. He had 13, but just two in the second half.
Hubbard matched his career high with 27 for C-N. He was 10-of-20 from the field and 2-for-4 from deep. Browder was Carson-Newman's only other double-digit scorer. He had 18 on 6-of-17 shooting. It marked only the second game this season where C-N didn't have three players score in double-digits (Lander was the other).
Two of the conference's four leading scorers – John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) – were held to a combined 16 points. They average 39 a night. Zhao was battling an illness in the days leading up to the game. He was 2-for-9 from the field but did manage to match a career high for rebound with 10. Brenegan had nine after torching TU for 27 in the first meeting.
C-N shot 43.8 percent from the field for the game, but 50 percent after halftime. The Pioneers finished at 48.6 percent. TU was 3-for-9 from deep, a season low. The Pioneers were 0-for-5 after halftime.
The Eagles outrebounded the Pioneers 40-35. TU had a 15-3 edge points off turnovers. After turning it over 12 times in the first half, the Eagles only had three giveaways after halftime.
Benson credited C-N's student section and a crowd of more than 1,100 – the third four-digit crowd of the season – with paving the way for C-N to rally.
"Student section was off the charts tonight," Benson said. "I'm so grateful for their support. I will go home tonight and suffer thinking how we didn't give them what they wanted, and that is a win. I hate it for our guys, our staff, our students and our administration because they created as good an atmosphere I've seen. They were a big difference in giving us energy to rally."
The loss snaps C-N's eight-game home win streak.
Carson-Newman wraps up a three-game homestand Saturday at 4 p.m. against Anderson. 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.
