GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – In a physical contest pock-marked by a combined 48-fouls, Tusculum (1-2, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) outrebounded C-N by eight en route to taking a 73-69 decision from the Eagles Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
"This was a rivalry game with history and a lot of juice," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "It's early, but this was a battle."
Tusculum had a 43-35 edge on the glass with 17 offensive boards leading to 18 second chance points. The glass work made up a a 40.4 percent shooting effort for TU.
Meanwhile, Carson-Newman knocked down 45.3 percent of its shots, but went just 2-for-8 from deep compared to Tusculum's 9-for-23 three-point shooting.
"We got better today," Benson said. "Their offensive rebounding was dynamite. That's what they do and they did it very well. Our guys battled, they were just able to get their hands on the balls more frequently. In a close game like this, second chance points can determine things."
Reigning SAC Player of the Year Trenton Gibson returned from a broken foot to lead all scorers with 23 points. He added in five rebounds. Virginia State transfer William Vedder added in 16 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting.
"Trent Gibson is the reigning player of the year in this league, Brandon Mitchell is one of the three best defenders in this league," Benson said. "The addition of Vedder is big. He produced tonight. There's a reason why they were an NCAA tournament team a year ago. Credit to them. They are a good team."
Tripp Davis (Nashville, Tenn.) guided Carson-Newman with 20 points. He was 5-for-13 from the field and 10-for-13 at the stripe. EJ Bush added 12 points in a four-minute stretch after halftime. Luke Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) and Bryant Thomas (Charlotte, N.C.) rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers with 10 and 14, respectively.
Both teams battled through foul trouble. Ren Dyer (Weaverville, N.C.) fouled out in with six points, 10 boards and five assists. Bush, Thomas, Brengan and Joshuwa Butts (Lilburn, Ga.) all finished the game with four fouls. Bush was limited to just 14 minutes, while Thomas only played 22 minutes.
For Tusculum, Brandon Mitchell and Inady Legiste each had four fouls called on them and played a combined 13 minutes.
The contest continued a recent trend of tight games between the rivals. The last three matchups, all away from Holt Fieldhouse, have been decided by a combined seven points.
Carson-Newman turned it over 18 times compared to 21 for the Pioneers. The Eagles had 13 steals and an 18-15 edge in points off turnovers.
Carson-Newman returns to Holt Fieldhouse Saturday against a top-10 Queens team. Tipoff with the Royals is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
