HARROGATE, Tenn. – Unable to overcome an overbearing defense, Carson-Newman fell in the midweek South Atlantic Conference contest to No. 2 Lincoln Memorial by an 87-65 final at the Tex Turner Arena.
"I thought there were lot of positive takeaways tonight," head coach Chuck Benson said postgame. "I think we actually did a lot of good things."
Play began inside the raucous visiting arena with C-N (7-12, 5-9 SAC) hanging tough throughout the first half of play, leading 13-12 at the under-12 timeout in the first half. As time rolled on, however, the battle of attrition against the nation's second-ranked LMU (20-1,13-0 SAC) sank in. At the end of the first half, the Railsplitters lead taken at the 11:22 mark by a Courvoisier McCauley layup had ballooned to 12.
C-N stuck around for the majority of the second half, finding the pulse to stay alive off the back of 13 second-half points by freshman guard Kaleb Wallace (Atlanta, Ga.). An exceptional defensive effort, forcing nine turnovers and holding LMU to just a shade above 50 percent (51.7) from the floor allowed the Eagles to not go away quietly.
The Railsplitters eclipsed C-N's final tally of 65 at the 8:32 mark in the second half off of a free throw by leading scorer Anthony Brown. A final 7-3 run to lead to the under-four media timeout all but sealed things for the rival LMU.
Junior forward EJ Bush (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) led the Eagles with 18 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) added 15 points and five rebounds. Wallace's 13 points all came in the final 20 minutes of play, added three rebounds and two assists.
It is the second-lowest score for the Eagles this season, managing only to shoot 39 percent from the floor, including 20 percent from long range. It is the fourth-lowest shooting percentage for C-N on the season and the lowest percentage from deep in a single game, respectively.
Brown finished with a total of 23 for the Railsplitters with McCauley (15), Cameron Henry (14) and Kamaran Calhoun (14) all finishing above double-digit points. Henry grabbed 10 rebounds and added seven assists to lead the team across all three categories.
Despite McCauley finishing second for LMU in points, his five-of-13 from the floor is much lower than his 50 percent average on the year, and his 15 lands five points lower than his season average of 20.
C-N was able to hold LMU guard Devin Whitfield to a mere five points in the contest. Whitfield, who averages 17.3 points a game this season, only attempted five shots in 24 minutes of play.
"Yet again, our guys honored our scout (report)," Benson said. "We wanted to force Anthony Brown to prove something and Anthony Brown proved something. We were willing to live with that. We wanted to make sure we took the prime guys and tried to limit them, which I thought we did.
"That's a testament to our guys and our growth."
Looking to get back on track after losing three of the last four, C-N returns to the friendly confines of Holt Fieldhouse Saturday against Anderson. Tip is schedulsaed for 4 p.m.
