Eagles Slip Past Lenoir-Rhyne, 66-61
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Senior guard Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) and sophomore guard Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) netted 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Carson-Newman men’s basketball team to a 66-61 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Senior guard Jordan Dixon
(Clinton, Tenn.) and sophomore guard Cameron Sharp (Knoxville,
Tenn.) netted 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the
Carson-Newman men’s basketball team to a 66-61 victory over
Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday night in South Atlantic Conference action
at Holt Fieldhouse.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 8-9 on the season and 3-4 in
the conference. Lenoir-Rhyne falls to 3-14 overall and 1-6 in SAC
play.
“It was a very big win for us,” C-N head coach Daley
Clayton said. “We played really well in a very difficult
game. Both teams played zone and it slowed the game down, and we
were both a little bit short-handed. Late in the game, we really
needed to play some man and it paid off. I thought it also helped
us offensively because we weren’t standing around as
much.”
The Eagles shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51) for the game, including 52
percent in the second half. Lenoir-Rhyne scored at a 40 percent
(22-of-55) clip, but shot just 36 percent during the final 20
minutes.
Sharp turned in another solid outing for the Eagles, going 6-of-9
from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and dishing out five
assists. Sharp has shot 64 percent (16-of-25) from the floor in
C-N’s last two games.
“His confidence is back, and he is playing like that,”
Clayton said of Sharp. “We need that from him because
he’s an experienced kind of guy. As our guards go,
that’s the way we are going to go. Both (Sharp and Dixon)
played well enough tonight for us to win.”
Sophomore forward Quinche Dowdell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) added 14
points and seven rebounds for C-N, while senior Tray Okoth
(Richmond, Va.) tossed in 10 points
Forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) and Jon Hathcock (Concord,
N.C.) paced Lenoir-Rhyne with 15 points apiece, while Spenser
Sydney (Lincolnton, N.C.) tallied 10 points and grabbed eight
rebounds.
The teams were deadlocked at 31-31 heading into the locker room,
but Lenoir-Rhyne outscored the Eagles 10-5 during the first five
minutes of the second half to build a 41-36 lead.
The Eagles fought back to take a 42-41 lead on a Dixon layup with
12:47 remaining.
C-N and the Bears then battled through seven ties and five lead
changes before the Eagles went ahead for good at 64-61 on a
3-pointer by Sharp with 2:08 left.
C-N returns to the court on Wednesday at home in a SAC matchup
against Catawba. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
