Browder gets to 1,500, C-N staves off Coker rally to open league play
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Carson-Newman (5-1, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) capitalized on Coker (1-5, 0-2 SAC) miscues early and stiff-armed a Cobra rally late to collect a 78-72 win Saturday at the DeLoach Center.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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39 | 39 | 78 |
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27 | 45 | 72 |
VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Keliese Frye Interview
VIDEO: Matt Bilbrey Interview
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Carson-Newman (5-1, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) capitalized on Coker (1-5, 0-2 SAC) miscues early and stiff-armed a Cobra rally late to collect a 78-72 win Saturday at the DeLoach Center.
Carson-Newman forced 17 turnovers and outscored Coker 30-14 in points off turnovers en route to the win. Both Matt Bilbrey (Crossville, Tenn.) and Keliese Frye (Newport, Ky.) reset career highs for steals with five apiece. They are the first five-steal days for C-N since Tripp Davis in 2021.
"I felt great about what we did defensively the first half and what we had done to Isayah Owens (the league's leading scorer) in that first half," head coach Chuck Benson said. "We set a tone, and that has an impact, but the game still has to be won in the second half. It was a flip of the coin and we weren't as sound defensively. You couple that with a higher number of turnovers. Then you couple that with an off shooting night at the line. It was the perfect storm to get a loss, but we still did enough to give ourselves a solid road win against a team that was hungry for success today."
Carson-Newman led 39-27 at the break on the heels of a 14-2 first-half run. C-N surged ahead by 15 in the second half with 16:38 to play following a pair of Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) free throws.
Coker slowly chipped away at things. The Cobras got within four with 8:14 to go following a 6-0 run, and then were within two, 67-65 with 3:02 to go after a pair of Isayah Owens free throws and a Ryan Webster three. Coker would get no closer.
Matt Knafelz pulled Coker within three, 72-69, with 73 seconds left before Bilbrey stretched the game back to two possessions with a head of the key three with a minute to go.
"They were really trying to limit Jack's touches and make him work, having said that, he still manages to come away with 23 points," Benson said. "As a consequence of that, they were collapsing bodies to defend the rim. Bilbrey read and took what the defense gave him off Jack's feed. He's one of the best young guards in this region. For him to step up and do that, I'm not the least bit surprised. He's an elite decision maker. He continues to evolve into a phenomenal point guard."
With 15 points, six boards and a career-best five steals (plus a bunch more deflections), @KelieseF earns Premiere Player of the Game honors after a 78-72 road win at Coker
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) December 7, 2025
��⤵️https://t.co/hbTHrfxmv5@CN_Hoops x #TalonsUp x #GMTE pic.twitter.com/Q0dGYyRHdV
Bilbrey reset his scoring career high as well with 22 points. He scored 10 of those 22 points in the final 2:51 of the game.
Bilbrey was 5-of-7 from deep and 8-of-16 from the field. He dished out five assists. Frye finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He also snagged six boards.
"We have some objectives to disrupt opponent's offense," Benson said. "I thought Matt and Keliese both did a good job to that end. Matt's weren't as loud as Keliese's. Keliese knows we expect him to be a disruptive presence on the floor defensively. We were +17 with him on the floor. He and Bilbrey both definitely added value"
Browder produced his 28th career double-double with 23 points and 15 boards. He was 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from deep and 11-of-14 at the line.
The 23 points, his 35th career 20-point game, give him an even 1,500 for his career. He is Carson-Newman's 13th all-time 1,500-point scorer. He is one of six players in school history with 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds. Browder sits on 683 rebounds for his career.
3️⃣0️⃣ points off turnovers
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) December 7, 2025
Career high 2️⃣2️⃣points and5️⃣ steals for @matthewbilbrey3
Career high 5️⃣ steals for @KelieseF
Oh, and @JackBrowder3 gets his 1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th career point @CN_Hoops x #TalonsUp x #GMTE pic.twitter.com/GML6bBkq3F
"We needed Jack on both the point and rebound side," Benson said. "You don't want to take him for granted. He's capable and thankful that he not only helped us win, but also etched his name in the record books as we knew he inevitably would."
Carson-Newman only shot 41 percent from the field, and was just 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) after halftime. C-N was just 6-of-18 from inside the arc after halftime, although the Eagles did connect on 5-of-10 second-half threes.
C-N did limit the Cobras to 43.8 percent shooting. Coker went 7-of-21 from deep. Coker shot 45.7 percent after halftime as it rallied. The Cobras were 6-of-11 from distance after halftime after a 1-for-10 effort in the first half.
The Eagles held the league's leading scorer Owens to 16 points. He only had four in the first half, but found his footing for 12 after halftime. The 16 points were a season low. He also handed out six assists, but none in the second half.
Pedrag Panisic reset his career high with 18 points to pace Coker. He was 8-of-18 from the field. Webster and Zundra Jackson rounded out the Cobras double-digit scorers. Webster finished with 11, while Jackson had 10 on 5-of-17 shooting.
C-N outrebound the Cobras 42-35. C-N had a 19-9 edge on fast break points as a byproduct of their edge in points off turnovers.
This was the first game all year where C-N had fewer turnovers than its opponent, by a 17-15 margin. C-N did have 11 turnovers after halftime.
Carson-Newman heads to Greeneville, Tenn. Wednesday to renew its rivalry with Tusculum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Pregame coverage om the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. Fans can also join a feed from "On Press Row" of the game on YouTube.
Team Stats
Coker
| Game Statistics | RV Carson-Newman | Coker |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-61) | (28-64) |
| Field Goal % | 41.0% | 43.8% |
| Rebounds | 42 | 35 |
| Assists | 12 | 18 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 17 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 30 | 14 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 5 | 8 |
| Pts in the Paint | 28 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 15 | 9 |
| Bench Pts | 4 | 8 |
