Dixon's 25 Lifts Eagles Past Lincoln Memorial on Senior Night, 78-75

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman guard Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) poured in a game-high 25 points as the Eagles beat rival Lincoln Memorial, 78-75, in Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday evening.

With the win, Carson-Newman improves to 10-15 overall and 5-9 in South Atlantic Conference play, while LMU falls to 19-7 and 9-6 in SAC play.

C-N survived a wild closing sequence to hang on for the win. The game saw five ties and 18 lead changes, including eight in the final 5:34, as the Eagles broke a five-game losing streak.

After a pair of free throws by Tray Okoth (Richmon, Va.) gave the Eagles a 73-70 lead with 2:39 to play, LMU answered with five-straight points to take a 75-73 lead with a minute to play. Tony Martin (Cincinnati, Ohio) knocked down a pair of free throws and sophomore Cameron Carden (Clearwater, Fla.) knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the night to give the Railsplitters the lead in the final minute.

C-N’s Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) answered with a deep three-pointer with the shot clock winding gave the Eagles a 76-75 lead with 26 seconds to play.

LMU would get two shots at the bucket down by one, but a Carden three and a Brandon Armstrong jumper both missed the mark.

After a pair of Dixon free throws pushed the C-N lead to three with two seconds to play, sophomore Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.) found Carden open for a game-tying three as time expired, but the shot failed to find the mark.

The final minutes of the game were a reflection of the entire 40 minutes. Neither team led by more than seven points.

LMU led 57-52 with 9:52 to play in the game, but six Eagles would score down the stretch, including two three-pointers by Sharp, as C-N battled back.

Sharp’s first three during the stretch gave C-N a 61-60 lead at the 7:46 mark, and sent the game into a back-and-forth battle for the final eight minutes.

Dixon finished 7-of-14 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from behind the arc, for his 25 points. He also had five rebounds. Sharp closed his night 5-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-6 from long range, for his 18.

Sophomore Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.) led the Railsplitters with 19 points behind 8-of-14 shooting. Carden added 14 including 4-of-8 from three-point range.

Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday night against Catawba. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C. LMU will travel to Newberry next Saturday for its regular-season finale.

-C-N-