VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: John Zhao Interview
VIDEO: Matt Bilbrey Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-6, 8-5 South Atlantic Conference) scorched the nets to the tune of 58.6 percent shooting while holding UVA Wise (10-6, 7-5 SAC) to a season low 38.7 percent shooting effort in a 101-76 win over the Cavaliers Wednesday evening in Holt Fieldhouse.
The win gives C-N back-to-back victories, splits the season series with UVA Wise and halts the Cavs' five-game win streak overall. It was UVA Wise's first loss of 2025 and ended the SAC's longest active win streak.
"I was so pleased with what I saw today," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "I loved what we showed defensively, and of course, we got going making shots. Shot-making and stellar defense is a really nice winning combination."
John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) blistered to lead the Eagles' attack. The senior turned in his sixth career 30-point day and the first of his senior year.
"John had a really nice couple days of practice and was locked in," Benson said. "I thought he had a serious tone the first half. I just know how he is, and if you give him opportunities, he's going to capitalize. Our team collectively did some stuff that enabled him to find those opportunities. We had some really effective transition play today."
Zhao went off for 25 points after halftime. He connected on 11-of-22 shots, including 7-of-11 from deep. He made six straight threes to open up the second half.
"Ever since break, my big thing has been trusting God," Zhao said. "I was trusting God today, but also trusting the work, my teammates and them trusting me. We have elite culture. They fed me because we trust each other. It showed today with each and every one of us."
With his 30-point day, Zhao moved past the 1,200-point mark for his career and into the top 30 all-time in school history. Zhao has 1,213 points for his career. He's officially past Jim Shuler with 29th-place Carson Brooks ahead at 1,248.
He led a balanced quintet who finished in double-digits. Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) had 19 points and eight rebounds to go with four assists. He was 9-of-14 from the floor.
Matt Bilbrey (Crossville, Tenn.) reset his career high with a perfect day from the field. He was 6-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from three. He matched a career high with four assists.
"I've learned so much from Trey," Bilbrey said. "I watch everything he does and try to apply it to my game."
Carson-Newman's point guard play was stellar overall. Hubbard and Bilbrey combined for 34 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
"The confidence is booming," Benson said. "Matt is developing credibility with his teammates too. He and Trey are a really nice one-two punch. They can both score and touch paint. We've got a really nice thing going with those guys."
Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) added in 13 points and six rebounds. He also had three blocks. Ilic canned 2-of-5 threes.
Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) rounded out C-N's double-digit scorers with his 17th career double-double. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Carson-Newman built a double-digit lead early thanks to an early 10-0 run. Carson-Newman was up 13-3 3:51 into the game following back-to-back layups from Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) and Hubbard.
However, Wise had an answer for everything the Eagles through at it until the mid-point of the second half. The teams swapped seven runs of 6-0 or greater through the first
28 minutes of the game.
C-N seemingly had taken control after an 11-2 run to start the second half to get up by 16, 61-45 following a Zhao triple. But once more, the Cavs countered with a 10-0 run to get the deficit back to six. That would be as close as UVA Wise would get.
"Credit to Wise, they are competing for an NCAA tournament spot, and are going to win a lot of games," Benson said. "This is a quality win for us. They are having a quality season. I told the guys at halftime Wise would come out furious and aggressive. I thought we met that match before surging late."
The Eagles outscored UVA Wise 27-8 over the next seven minutes to take control for good. Zhao was the catalyst for the spurt, scoring 19 straight points at one point for C-N. An and-one layup and a fast-break, head of the key three stretched the lead to 18 with 9:17 to go. Two more layups, sandwiched around a three gave him a 7-0 run by himself to put the Eagles up 20 with 5:08 to play.
"We got those transition opportunities and John created the separation," Benson said. "It was a great combination of shooting well from three and putting elite pressure on the rim. So many people did things that propelled our offense. Credit to our player for making plays."
Wise got 21-point from Zy'ever Wingfield. He buried a career-high four threes on seven attempts. Patrick Shelley added in 14 points, while Bradley Dean tallied 10. He was 4-of-11 from the field. Seven-footer Evan Ramey had six points, but grabbed 13 boards, dished out five assists and blocked three shots.
Carson-Newman went 14-of-25 from beyond the arc. The Eagles canned 10-of-16 threes after halftime. The Eagles hit double-digit threes for a 14th time this season and did so at a better than 50 percent clip for a sixth game.
The Cavs were the fifth team Carson-Newman held to below 40 percent shooting this season. C-N held the Cavs to 35 percent shooting after halftime, including a 4-of-14 mark from long range.
The Eagles outboarded Wise 43-35 and outscored the Cavs 48-20 in the paint. C-N had a 23-11 edge in points on the break.
Carson-Newman shot better than 55 percent for a seventh time this season.
The Eagles stay at home Saturday to take on Wingate at 4 p.m. The contest will feature the 10-year reunion for the 2015 SAC tournament championship team. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream will be available at cneagles.com/FloMbb.
