Indians late burst fends off No. 24/20 C-N
November 23, 2024

Indians late burst fends off No. 24/20 C-N

Turnovers and offensive rebounds were the story of the game for No. 24/20 Carson-Newman (6-2, 2-1 SAC). The Eagles coughed it up 18 times and Catawba (3-2, 1-1 SAC) scored 28 points off the turnovers and C-N saw the Indians grab 16 offensive rebounds to score 19 second chance points in a 86-76 Catawba victory on Saturday evening inside of Holt Fieldhouse.

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Nick Brenegan Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Turnovers and offensive rebounds were the story of the game for No. 24/20 Carson-Newman (6-2, 2-1 SAC). The Eagles coughed it up 18 times and Catawba (3-2, 1-1 SAC) scored 28 points off the turnovers and C-N saw the Indians grab 16 offensive rebounds to score 19 second chance points in a 86-76 Catawba victory on Saturday evening inside of Holt Fieldhouse.

"Let's just state the obvious," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They had 16 offense rebounds and scored 19 points off those rebounds. We had 18 turnovers and they scored 28 points off those turnovers. That led to 30 more shot opportunities. If you melt it down to one thing, its that they absolutely killed us on the boards and we had ball security issues."

The loss brings C-N's six game winning streak to halt.

For the seventh straight game, Carson-Newman shot above 50 percent from field. That matches the 2017-18 team's streak for games shooting better than 50 percent from field.

The Eagles were led by John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) who made seven of his 12 shot attempts for 21 points. His first of four triples helped him soar past the 1,000-career point mark in his career. He is the 42nd player in program history to reach that scoring plateau.

Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.) were also in double-figures with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Brenegan grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.

Catawba started well, scoring seven of the first nine points. C-N would level the game at seven, before seeing Catawba go on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 20-9 lead with 13:05 to play in the opening half.

Browder and Zhao hit back-to-back triples at the halfway point of the opening half to bring the deficit down to seven with 9:43 left in the first half.

The Indians would score 13 of the next 18 points to open their largest lead of the game and half, thanks to back-to-back Montravius White three-pointers at the 4:34 mark.

C-N closed the half well, scoring the final three baskets of the half and trailed by just six points thanks to a 7-0 scoring run.

That momentum would carry over into the second half. After Catawba scored the first basket, C-N answered with a 10-0 scoring run that included three-pointers from Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) and Zhao to help Carson-Newman gain its first lead of the game at the 15:39 mark.

Catawba would regain the lead on back-to-back buckets from O'mazeon Tinsley to make it 60-56 Indians with 11:15 to play.

The Eagles made three layups in a 90-second stretch to retake a three-point lead with 7:29 to go.

It would be all Indians from there. Catawba made seven of its final nine shots and held C-N to just one basket in the final 7 minutes to secure the 10-point win.

"They were determined for 40 minutes," Benson said. "We didn't play a 40-minute game and they did. So, as the game got late and down to winning time, they brought more to the table than we did."

Catawba was led by Montravius White and Ibra Athie, who scored 25 and 20 points, respectively. Both of them came into the game with just 20 points through the first four games of the year. C-N held Catawba's leading scorer on average to start the season to just four points.

"Guys at this level are very talented," Benson said. "Relatively early in the season, guys may not score for a variety of reasons. Those guys created scoring opportunities for their team not because they are lucky but because they talented. The other guys stepped up for them offensively."

Ilic filled the stat sheet for C-N. He had five points and led C-N in rebounding and assists with nine and seven.

Carson-Newman plays its final game before Thanksgiving, hitting the road on Tuesday for a matchup with Emory & Henry at 4 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMbb.

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