EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry Men's Basketball Team (4-14, 1-9 SAC) gave the third-place team in the South Atlantic Conference all it could handle Wednesday evening but eventually fell in overtime to Carson-Newman University (14-4, 7-3 SAC). The Eagles earned the win by a 106-99 final score.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Carson-Newman 106, Emory & Henry 99
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Bob Johnson Court at the John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (4-14, 1-9 SAC); Carson-Newman (14-4, 7-3 SAC)
How It Happened
- Both teams were hot out of the gates to begin the game as they traded baskets and the score stood level at 16-16 with 14:24 to play. Back-to-back buckets from freshman guard Jackson Crawford (Daleville, Va.) saw the Wasps take their biggest lead of the stanza at 25-20. The first stanza continued to be a back-and-forth affair that saw six ties and six lead changes total. The tally was all square again at 34-34 before a quick 5-0 run gave the Eagles a bit of breathing room with 3:31 left. Carson-Newman would hold on to take a 46-42 advantage heading into the locker room.
- The Wasps came out firing in the second half, scoring the first seven points to jump ahead 49-46 on a three from junior guard Gabe Brown (Clintwood, Va.). The second half was another tight affair as the teams were not separated by more than eight points the entire game. The score was tied once again at 67-67 with 8:39 remaining, setting up an exciting finish. The Eagles pushed ahead 81-75 at the 4:18 mark, but E&H battled back to retake the lead 84-83 with just 68 ticks to play on a layup from sophomore guard Omari Curley (Prince George, Va.). Freshman Keishawn Hampton (Buford, Ga.) knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Wasps a three-point advantage with just six seconds remaining, but the Eagles would not go quietly and Jack Browder banked home a three from the top of the key with a second left to force overtime.
- Carson-Newman quickly ran out to a 96-90 lead in the extra period before a three from sophomore forward Marshall Klug (Greensboro, N.C.) trimmed the deficit to just three with 2:18 to play. Trey Hubbard came up clutch for the Eagles, making a layup and converting six consecutive from the charity stripe down the stretch to help the visitors escape Emory with the 106-99 victory.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Klug paced the Wasps with a career-high 21 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Junior guard Jalen Leftwich (Lynchburg, Va.) posted 21 points, eight assists, four rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocked shots.
- Sophomore forward Jacob Dar (Omaha, Neb.) added 17 points, four rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and a pair of steals while Brown contributed 11 points, three boards, one assist, one steal and a block.
Carson-Newman Individual Leaders
- John Zhao had a monster night for the Eagles with a game-high 38 points, four rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot while Browder finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists, a pair of blocks and a steal.
- Nick Brenegan had 19 points, three assists and a rebound in addition to Hubbard's 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry shot 46.2 percent (36-for-78) for the game with 11 made three-pointers (34.4%). The Wasps went 16-for-19 (84.2%) at the free throw line.
- Carson-Newman hit 40-of-68 (58.8%) of its field goal attempts, connecting on 15 triples for a staggering 68.2% from behind the three-point stripe. The Eagles knocked down 78.6 percent (11-of-14) of their free throws.
- CN held a 39-33 advantage on the glass, but the Wasps had a narrow 15-12 margin on second-chance points.
-E&H committed a season-low five turnovers compared to 14 for the visitors and converted those miscues into a huge 21-0 advantage on points off turnovers.
- Both teams pounded the ball inside with the Eagles scoring 50 points in the paint to the Wasps' 42. The Wasp bench came up big, outscoring CN 22-4.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry wraps up its two-game home stand on Saturday, January 27 when they welcome the Wolves of Newberry College for Alumni Day. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. as the first game of a doubleheader with the women's team.
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