NEWBERRY, S.C. — The Carson-Newman men’s basketball team turned in a stellar effort on both ends of the floor as it defeated Newberry, 55-53, on Monday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Eleazer Arena.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 9-10 on the season and 4-5 in the conference, while Newberry falls to 7-13 overall and 2-7 in the SAC.

C-N shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) from the floor and had one of its best defensive performances of the season as it held the scarlet and gray to 35.7 percent shooting (20-of-56).

“Coming here, the whole thing with this team was we had to do a better job defensively,” C-N head coach Dale Clayton said. “We hadn’t been defending quite as well as we needed to in the conference, and I thought tonight we did.”

Seniors Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) and Darron Maxtion (Huntsville, Ala.) tossed in 14 points apiece to lead C-N, while Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) netted 11 points and Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.) added eight points and nine rebounds. Maxtion also pulled down nine rebounds.

Danny Huffor (Marco Island, Fla.) paced Newberry with 16 points, while Ray Robinson (Jacksonville, Fla.) pitched in 11 points in the loss.

The first half saw five ties and nine lead changes, as the teams entered the locker room tied at 24.

Newberry regained the lead to start the second half, as Stephane Bakinde (Yaounde, Cameroon) knocked down a jumper on the opening possession to give the scarlet and grey a 26-24 lead, but C-N guard Erwin Staten (Huntsville, Ala.) answered with a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 27-26 advantage.

C-N held the lead for the next 13 minutes before Newberry fought back to tie the game at 49 with 5:19 remaining.

Newberry then took a 51-49 lead on a Robinson tip-in, but the Eagles outscored the scarlet and grey 6-2 to close out the game and seal the win.

The Eagles return to the court on Wednesday in their last non-conference contest of the season as they travel to Bristol, Tenn., to face King College. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.