EMORY, Va. – It was a back-and-forth tussle for 20 minutes of action inside the John Rutledge King Center Tuesday afternoon, but the visiting Carson-Newman University Men's Basketball Team (7-2, 3-1 SAC) eventually pulled away from Emory & Henry University (2-5, 0-3 SAC) in the second half to earn a 91-75 South Atlantic Conference victory.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Carson-Newman 91, Emory & Henry 75
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Bob Johnson Court at the John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (2-5, 0-3 SAC); Carson-Newman (7-2, 3-1 SAC)
How It Happened
- The teams traded buckets to begin the opening half and the Eagles held a narrow 10-7 lead at the first media timeout. A made three from freshman guard Sam Ritchie (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) gave the Wasps the lead at 12-10, but a quick response from Carson-Newman pushed them back ahead. Both squads continued to shoot well through the middle stages of the frame as the Eagles clung to the one-point advantage at 25-24 with 8:29 to play. C-N increased its lead out to three at 31-28 and a layup from freshman guard Korbin Dixon (Milton, Ontario, CANADA) cut the deficit to just one before a John Zhao put back pushed the Eagles back ahead 33-30. Both squads went cold as neither could score over the final 3:11 and the visitors took the three-point advantage into the half.
- The Eagles scored seven of the first 11 points to begin the second half until junior guard Omari Curley (Prince George, Va.) drained a three to pull the Wasps back within four at 41-37. C-N continued to fill up the bucket from distance and another three by Nick Brenegan gave them their largest lead of the game at 54-42, forcing an E&H timeout. The Wasps slowly chipped away at the deficit and a three by Dixon reduced the Eagles' advantage to just four at 60-56 with 10:35 left on the clock. A quick 7-0 spurt from Carson-Newman saw them push their lead back out to double digits with just under eight minutes to play. The Eagles had an answer for everything the Wasps threw at them on the afternoon as they finished the game on an 11-5 run to take the win by the 91-75 final score.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Dixon paced the Wasps with 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists while senior guard/forward Gabe Brown (Clintwood, Va.) added 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Sophomore guard Jackson Crawford (Daleville, Va.) finished with 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
- Curley had eight points, two steals and a rebound to go along with senior guard Jalen Leftwich (Lynchburg, Va.) who posted eight points, two rebounds and a pair of helpers.
Carson-Newman Individual Leaders
- Brenegan led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, two rebounds and an assist. John Zhao recorded 19 points and six rebounds while Braden Ilic registered 17 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four blocks.
- Jack Browder had 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal while Trey Hubbard had 13 points, six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
A Deeper Look
- The Eagles shot 33-for-58 (56.9%) from the field while the Wasps were 29-for-75 (38.7%). C-N was hot from long distance as they finished 13-for-24 (54.2%) compared to E&H at 9-for-32 (28.1%).
- Carson-Newman outrebounded Emory & Henry by a narrow 38-35 margin on the glass and held a 40-36 advantage on points in the paint.
- The Wasps forced 10 turnovers and converted those mistakes into 11 points while the Eagles could only make E&H turn the rock over five times for seven points.
- The Eagles were effective in transition, as they outscored the home team by a 13-2 margin on the fastbreak.
Up Next
- The Wasps return to action after the break on Wednesday, December 4 when they host the Cobras of Coker University. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's team.
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