Zhao goes off, C-N overcomes double-digit deficit to rally past AU
January 25, 2025

Zhao goes off, C-N overcomes double-digit deficit to rally past AU

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (15-7, 10-6 South Atlantic Conference) rallied from its seventh largest deficit this century, coming back from a 15-point deficit to prevail 81-79 over Anderson (10-8, 6-8 SAC) Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse. 

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: John Zhao Interview 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (15-7, 10-6 South Atlantic Conference) rallied from its seventh largest deficit this century, coming back from a 15-point deficit to prevail 81-79 over Anderson (10-8, 6-8 SAC) Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse. 

Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) connected on a six-foot bunny with 30 seconds left for what would ultimately prove to be the game winner for C-N.  However, it was John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) and his 34 points, including 23 in the second half that was the scoring catalyst that helped C-N overcome a 35-20 first half deficit and a 41-33 hole at the halftime break. 

"Let's start by saying that I knew Anderson would have their A-game fully on display," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They had a week to prepare for this game and their best was certainly on display, especially in the first half.  They put us in precarious situations and our coverages were broken. We didn't have a good emergency response to start the game.  KT did a great job expressing some things that we needed to do differently, and in the second half we put those things into play.  It took our best performance this year in a half to more or less steal a win from them." 

It marked the second time this season won a game in which it trailed at the break, and is the first double-digit deficit C-N has overcome this year.  Carson-Newman hadn't rallied from a 15-point deficit since 2018 at Lenoir-Rhyne.  It marked the seventh-largest come-from-behind win in the last quarter of a century. 

"We weren't making shots at the rim early," Benson said. "The lesson from our team today is the response from the first half to the second half and our resiliency and determination to keep fighting.  Our guys kept punching, and punching and punching." 

The final score belies how much of a see-saw battle the second half turned into.  C-N used a 14-2 run spanning the halftime break to get within a point nearly three minutes into the second half.  Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) capped the spurt with a stepback three to make it a 43-42 lead for AU. 

However, the Trojans responded with six straight points to get the game back to the halftime margin a mere two minutes later after AJ Wright canned a top of the key three.  C-N slowly chipped away at that edge to snag its first lead since the opening minutes with 9:52 to go.  That 57-55 lead came on the heals of six straight points by Zhao.  He canned a quartet of free throws and followed that up with a driving lay in to put C-N in front.

Anderson once more answered, with an 8-2 run to get back up six after a pair of layups from Caleb McAbee an Sentinel Moore.  The Trojans were ahead 64-58 with 8:24 to go, but it would be another three minutes before they would score again. 

C-N would use a 12-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game. Zhao scored the final six points on the burst with a three and an and-one for a 70-64 edge with 5:32 to play. 

Anderson wasn't done yet, taking advantage of three straight C-N turnovers to get back in  front with an 8-0 run off a Dallas Jones layup.  The teams were tied twice and swapped leads three times in the final three minutes.

Two Hubbard freebies pulled C-N within one with 63 seconds left.  A turnover on Anderson's ensuing possession game C-N the ball with 40 seconds left.  Browder worked his way inside before dumping in what would amount to the winning basket with 30 seconds left on a six-foot bunny over top of Moore's outstretched right hand.

"We had run a similar play on Trey's shot where he got fouled," Benson said. "Trey made a great decision to draw help. Jack had a tough shot over Moore.  Jack finessed it.  It was enough to give us the separation necessary."

Anderson had see-sawed in front by making six straight buckets before the turnover prior to Browder's bucket. The Trojans missed their final two shots with a chance to take the lead or tie, a 15-foot left base-line airball from Sam Perez and a Jones layup the ricocheted out with a second left. 

Anderson built its lead thanks to torrid shooting early. The Trojans drilled 13 of their first 23 shots from the field (56.5 percent) and went 9-of-16 from deep in the first 15 minutes of the game to build the 15-point first-half lead. 

C-N recovered defensively to hold the Trojans without points over the next six minutes spanning the halftime break.  The Trojans suffered through three separate scoring droughts of three minutes or longer over the final 25 minutes of the game. 

"The first half, we were reactionary instead of being proactive," Benson said. "They had a lot of good action away from the ball and we weren't covering properly.  At halftime, we made commitments that allowed us to be more prescient and perform better getting one-to-one matchups like we needed." 

The Eagles suffered through a six-minute field goal drought in the first half while AU built its lead.  C-N shot a season-worst 33 percent from the field in the opening stanza, but recovered to shoot 60 percent from the field after halftime.  C-N limited the Trojans to 43.8 percent shooting in the second half and 44.3 percent for the game.  AU outshot C-N from beyond the arc, going 15-of-35 from deep. 

C-N outscored the Trojans in the paint 34-24, off turnovers 22-16 and on the fast break 14-6. 

Zhao led three Eagles in double-digits with his 34-point game, the seventh 30-point night of his career.  He was 10-of-19 from the field, 3-of-10 from range and 11-of-14 at the stripe.  He also snagged six boards. 

"If he's not putting the ball in the basket and putting intense pressure on the rim, it's arguable that we don't pull off a win today," Benson said. "He's a proven asset who time and again shows he's capable. I'm never surprised when he has a day like today. He just needs to get shots up, when he does, we've got a good chance of something good happening." 

With 1,286 career points, Zhao moved past Todd Lucas, Eddie Carter, Hugh Clement and Andy Tipton to jump into the top 25 in school history in scoring. 

Hubbard followed with 17 points.  He was 6-of-9 from the field.  Hubbard also handed out seven assists. Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) rounded out the double-digit scoring trio with a 10-point game.   

Anderson was also led by a trio of double-digit scorers.  Malachi Reeves reset his career high with 17 points.  Reeves drilled 5-of-8 threes. Reeves had 14 of his 17 in the first half.

Austin Webb added in 15 points and eight boards, while Wright chased a triple double with a bonkers 13-point, eight-board, eight-assist, five-steal stat line.

Carson-Newman went 19-of-24 at the free throw line, making one more foul shot than Anderson attempted. 

The Trojans went 10-of-18 at the line. 

C-N is off for seven days before returning to the floor in February at top-20 Lenoir-Rhyne.  Tipoff from Shuford Arena is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

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