Late run lifts Belmont Abbey past Eagles, 86-81
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team opened the 2010-11 season with an 86-81 loss to Belmont Abbey on Saturday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team opened the 2010-11 season with an 86-81 loss to Belmont Abbey on Saturday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
The game was closely contested throughout, as neither team led by more than seven points. With C-N leading by seven late in the second half, Belmont Abbey went on a decisive 11-0 run to pull out the win.
The Eagles (0-1) shot 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from the floor on the night but struggled from behind the arc as they made just 6-of-25 attempts from deep. The Crusaders scored at a 54.5 percent clip (30-fo-55) and went 23-of-29 from the free-throw line on its way to moving to 1-0 on the season.
Junior guard Bradley Tumer (Mt. Dora, Fla.) tossed in 19 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Eagles, while junior forward John Holleman (Petersburg, Va.) added 13 points and six rebounds. Junior Antonio Sullivan (Louisville, Ky.) pitched in nine points, and sophomore Collin Crane (Knoxville, Tenn.) and freshman Ishmael Sanders (Cleveland, Tenn.) produced eight points apiece in the loss.
Richard Barbee fired in a game-high 30 points and pulled down nine rebounds to pace Belmont Abbey. Tyshawn Good chipped in 16 points, while Jay Council and Terrone Sheffey scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
C-N held a 35-31 advantage on the boards, including 17 offensive rebounds, while both teams struggled in the turnover department. The Eagles finished the game with 19 giveaways, and Belmont Abbey had 17.
The Eagles built an early seven-point lead, as Crane came up with a steal and found Kevin Leatherwood (Charlottesville, N.C.) for a layup at the 14:07 mark of the first half to give C-N a 17-10 advantage.
The Crusaders scrapped back with an 18-4 run to take a 28-21 lead with 8:16 left. Belmont Abbey held a 45-38 lead with 1:37 remaining, but C-N fired back at the end of the half with back-to-back baskets from Sanders and Tumer to trim the Crusaders' lead to 45-42 heading into the locker room.
After the teams battled back and forth for the first eight minutes of the second half, C-N regained the lead at the 11:14 mark with a layup from Holleman at 53-52.
Senior guard Erwin Staten (Huntsville, Ala.) later drilled a 3-pointer to push C-N's lead to 66-59 with 7:57 left in the contest.
But Belmont Abbey responded with an 11-0 run capped off by a Barvee layup to take the lead for good. The Eagles were able to pull to within one point on three different occasions, but the Crusaders went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
The Eagles return to action on Nov. 19 against Georgia College in the Tusculum Classic. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in Greeneville, Tenn.
