VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Joshuwa Butts Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Tusculum (6-18, 6-14 South Atlantic Conference) connected on a season-best 13 threes and took advantage of a 90-second, offensive-rebound aided possession in overtime to score a 90-88 upset over Carson-Newman (18-8, 13-7 South Atlantic Conference) Wednesday night in Pioneer Arena.
The loss was the first this season for C-N in a game decided by four points or less. The Eagles had previously been 7-0. It also puts a halt to Carson-Newman's five-game winning streak both overall and on the road.
"This was the worst coached game by our staff this year," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Our players did not do a good job of minimizing controllable mistakes. It was a pitiful job by us as coaches, and we need to get back to playing the sound solid basketball that we had the past few weeks. We paid the price tonight and have put ourselves in a bad spot as a consequence."
Carson-Newman failed to capitalize on a litany of chances late in regulation when it could have tied or taken the lead before failing to grab a defensive rebound on a pivotal possession in OT.
C-N trailed by eight, 75-67 with 5:33 to go the second half. On its next three possessions, the Eagles would can six free throws to get within two with 4:07 to play. C-N would not make a shot until the 30 second mark. After a Bryce Jackson free throw, C-N was down three for the next three minutes, but went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc and turned it over twice looking to tie.
Still, Tusculum left the door ajar thanks to poor free throw shooting. The Pioneers were 4-for-8 at the stripe in the final four minutes or regulation and 3-of-6 at the line in overtime for a 7-for-14 mark over the final nine minutes of the contest.
TU led by six with 37 seconds left after two free throws by Malachi Hale. A layup by Nick Brenegan cut the deficit to four, 80-76 six seconds later. A foul and subsequent Bryce Jackson miss of the front end of a one-and-one set the table for a Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) drive. He got fouled and connected on two freebies to get C-N with two with 21 seconds left. TU again missed the front end of a one-and-one, but John Zhao's drive was rejected by Akeem Odusipe. C-N fouled, but Denaj Kimber missed the first and made the second to give the Pioneers a three-point lead with 11 seconds remaining, 81-78.
C-N burned two timeouts to draw up a corner three for Brenegan, which he stroked with 4.2 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Carson-Newman was in the driver's seat in the overtime session, up three a minute in. After a Odusipe hook shot pulled the Pioneers within one, Braden Ilic drew a foul but missed two free throws with 3:20 to go.
Tusculum would miss three shots on its ensuing offensive possession, grabbing an offensive rebound each time. Bryce Jackson put the Pioneers up for good with 1:56 left in the overtime session with a 10-foot tear drop from the right side of the paint. C-N had two cracks t the lead in the final 21 seconds, but had a layup fall errant with seven seconds left and a player slip on the floor and fall on the floor in the final three seconds without putting up one final shot down two.
"Offense today was hard for us, and I thought we kept putting guys in situations where we've seen some trends that are challenging for us," Benson said. "We kept on going back to that, and that was 100 percent my choice. I saw things that were maybe effective in November and December that may not be as effective here in February. That's called stupid and it's me being stupid instead of finding a different way to get to our end objective."
The loss spoiled Jack Browder's (Kingsport, Tenn.) fourth straight double-double. He posted 27 points and 15 rebounds on 9-of-18 shooting.
Brenegan moved into the top 30 all-time in scoring at C-N with a 14-point game. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) added in 17, while Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) had 13 points and five assists.
C-N got up and down in transition, outscoring the Pioneers 16-4 on the fast break. The Eagles made 21 free throws to the Pioneers 15 on 26 attempts, numbers that grew as C-N fouled to extend the game. Furthermore, C-N outscored the Pioneers in the paint 36-20. Tusculum only had two points in the paint in the first half.
However, the Pioneers connected on a season-best 13-of-33 threes.
"There's typically a recipe that works on the road," Benson said. "We won the free throws, we won the paint, you want to win the rebounding battle, but we didn't do that tonight. Clearly the difference was their shotmaking. Kudos to them, they made 13 of them. And everyone was making them. I knew we were in trouble when Akeem Odusipe jumped up and made one. He was so comfortable and relaxed when he made that, I knew the basketball gods were telling us something. Credit to them for making them, they shot it with great confidence and kicked us in our rear."
Seven different Pioneers made a three on the night, including Odusipe who knocked down the fifth of his career.
Jackson and Taj Kimber were both 3-of-6 from deep.
Jackson finished with 21 points, while Odusipe had 18. The Kimber twins, Taj and Denaj both added in 15.
The win for TU denies C-N its first sweep in the season series since 2017-18.
Both teams took care of the ball with C-N turning it over nine times compared to four for the Pioneers.
Carson-Newman stays on the road Saturday to take on Wingate from Cuddy Arena. Tipoff with the Bulldogs is set for 4 p.m. 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.
