Eagles rally for 79-76 victory at Lees-McRae
BANNER ELK, N.C. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team rallied from an early 16-point deficit to defeat Lees-McRae, 79-76, on Saturday afternoon in Banner Elk, N.C.
BANNER ELK, N.C. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team rallied from an early 16-point deficit to defeat Lees-McRae, 79-76, on Saturday afternoon in Banner Elk, N.C.
The Eagles trailed by 16 at the 6:52 mark of the first half but they went on a 17-6 run to close out the half and pull to within five points. C-N then outscored the Bobcats 48-40 in the second half to get the win and improve to 3-6 on the season. Lees-McRae falls to 3-5 with the loss.
C-N shot 57.7 percent during its second half run and scored at a 45.6 percent clip (26-of-57) for the game, while Lees-McRae shot 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the floor.
Junior forward John Holleman (Petersburg, Va.) delivered his third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles, while junior guard Antonio Sullivan (Louisville, Ky.) tallied 16 points. Freshman guard Ishmael Sanders (Cleveland, Tenn.) netted 11 points and eight assists, and sophomore Collin Crane (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished with 10 points.
Adam McFerran fired in a game-high 26 points and had eight rebounds to lead Lees-McRae, while Daniel Sepokas pitched in 15 points and Tevin Friday added 10.
The Bobcats led for the entire first half and held their biggest lead of the game at 30-14 after a 3-pointer by McFerran with 6:52 left. A Holleman layup then sparked a 17-6 C-N run that trimmed Lees-McRae's lead to 36-31 at the break.
Lees-McRae pushed its lead to 47-40 early in the first half on a jumper by McFerran, but the Eagles answered with an 11-4 run to take their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Sullivan with 11:28 remaining.
The lead then changed hands three more times before a layup by Holleman with 3:59 left put the Eagles ahead for good. Sullivan went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
C-N returns to the hardwood on Wednesday at home against Bluefield College. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
