Eagles come up short in OT thriller, fall to Union (Ky.) College 71-66
HARROGATE, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team fell to Union (Ky.) College, 71-66, in a thrilling overtime contest that saw 14 lead changes on Saturday in the 2010 Lincoln Memorial Holiday Classic at Tex Turner Arena.
HARROGATE, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team fell to Union (Ky.) College, 71-66, in a thrilling overtime contest that saw 14 lead changes on Saturday in the 2010 Lincoln Memorial Holiday Classic at Tex Turner Arena.
The Eagles (1-4) held a 59-56 lead with 16 seconds left in the game, but Union's Ian Davis sank a 3-pointer with nine seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, Davis knocked down a jumper on the opening possession to spark an 8-3 run that gave the Bulldogs (4-6) the lead for good.
C-N shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the floor but made just 9-of-27 attempts in the second half. Union scored at a 45.8 percent clip (27-of-59). The Eagles held a 36-30 advantage in rebounds, including 14 offensive boards.
Junior point guard Bradley Tumer (Mt. Dora, Fla.) paced the Eagles with 10 points, while Collin Crane (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Antonio Sullivan (Louisville, Ky.) finished with nine points apiece. Erwin Staten (Huntsville, Ala.), Joe Meady (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.) and John Holleman (Petersburg, Va.) each had eight points in the loss. Crane and Staten also pulled down seven rebounds each.
Turrell Morris fired in a game-high 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead the Bulldogs, while Davis and Payton Ponzer tossed in 14 and 11 points, respectively, in the win.
C-N led by as many as six points at 20-14 with 8:32 left in the first half after a basket by Tumer, but Union went on a 10-3 run to take a 24-23 lead at the 3:58 mark. Holleman answered with a jumper at the other end to give the Eagles the lead for the remainder of the half, as C-N took a 32-29 advantage into the locker room.
C-N pushed its lead to 36-31 on a layup by Sullivan early in the second half. However, the teams played through three ties and four lead changes during the final 17 minutes. Freshman Ishmael Sanders (Cleveland, Tenn.) sank a pair of free throws with 16 second left to give the Eagles a three-point lead, but Davis' 3-pointer sent the game into the extra session in which the Bulldogs took the lead for good.
The Eagles return to action on Wednesday at home against Maryville College. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
