Browder’s 20-20 game powers C-N past TWU
December 31, 2025

Browder’s 20-20 game powers C-N past TWU

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-3, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) closed the book on 2025 with a 20-point win over Tennessee Wesleyan (5-7, 4-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference), 92-72 Wednesday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse. 

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Jack Browder Interview

VIDEO: Dave Gorianskii Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-3, 3-2 South Atlantic Conference) closed the book on 2025 with a 20-point win over Tennessee Wesleyan (5-7, 4-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference), 92-72 Wednesday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse. 

"I'm going to give our guys the benefit of the doubt, they had a little bit of extra rust on them," head coach Chuck Benson said. "This is a win, but the performance in and of itself was not what I would hope it would be. Again, it's a win, so from that standpoint, we're happy, but we have to find a way to get better quick."

Jack Browder was the focal point, finishing with 25 points, in addition to a career-high 20 rebounds and seven assists. It was the eighth 20-rebound game in Division II this season, seventh in school history and second during the NCAA era.

"I think this game was completely on my teammates, and them doing an incredible job boxing out. I think our zone gives some guys opportunities to just chase [rebounds]," Browder said. "I know there were at least four or five boards where Braden or Rylan are sitting right there with their guy boxed, and my guy doesn't crash so I don't have to box, and I can just go chase it. So if they don't box out their guys, I don't get that board."

 The 20 rebounds are the most for the program since Colin Martin's 20-rebound day at Lees-McRae on Nov. 14, 1998.  It registers as the first 20-20 game of the Eagles' NCAA era. 

"He really loves to compete, he loves this program, he's invested and he delivers," Benson said. "Every coach in America likes to say that last word, guys that deliver, and Jack just delivers. So, we're blessed to have Jack Browder in this thing."

After a scrappy opening 20 minutes, the Eagles erupted in the second frame, outscoring the Bulldogs 50-32, picking up their eighth straight win in the series.

Tennessee Wesleyan took an early lead, 9-4, but Carson-Newman responded with a 7-0 run to go ahead with 16:29 remaining. The teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes, staying close at 23-23 with 9:29 left. Then, on the seventh lead change of the half, the Eagles began to widen their margin.

C-N's largest lead of the opening half was nine, following a Keliese Frye dunk, 37-28, and then later, with 2:04 left, 42-33, following two free throws by Braden Ilic. However, the Bulldogs found another gear with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit down to two, heading into the locker room, 42-40.

In the second half, the Eagles found their tune offensively, and coupled with hounding defensive pressure, their lead blossomed. C-N shot 53 percent from the field, 5-for-12 from beyond the arc, got to the free throw line 20 times and outrebounded the Bulldogs 28-18 in the final 20 minutes.  C-N owned a 56-33 edge on the glass. The 56 rebounds are tied for the fifth-most in program history. 

Defensively, it limited TWU to 32 percent shooting, with a 1-for-10 mark from three in the second half. Coming into the contest, the Bulldogs were a top 20 three-point shooting team from deep in the NAIA, they finished the game 7-for-28 in that category. 

Carson-Newman used runs of 11-0, 9-0 and 6-0, in the second period to stretch its lead to as many as 23, 89-66. It finished out the game holding Tennessee Wesleyan without a made field goal across the final 2:31.

The 11-0 run came in a 2-minute stretch, early in the second, after the Bulldogs knotted it up at 44 with 17:54 left. Back-to-back threes from Browder and Matt Bilbrey, followed by two free throws from Ilic, and another Bilbrey to bookend the run, shot the lead up to 55-44 with 15:56 left. 

"We were stacking stops, and our guys were really aggressive getting transition points. I thought we did a pretty good job of running and finding shots, especially in the second half," Benson said. "I was pleased with that because ultimately, this team can defend consistently and can rebound. We were plus-23 on the boards, doubled them up on offensive boards and were getting stops, so that part I'm pleased with."

Across the entire game, the Eagles shot 47.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and were 19-for-30 from the charity stripe. They outscored the Bulldogs, 50-32, in points in the paint.

The Eagles were spreading the wealth, dishing out 25 assists on their 33 makes from the floor this evening. In addition, they nabbed 14 second-chance points.

There were three other double-digit scorers, with Bilbrey adding 17 points, shooting 5-for-7 from deep, Frye chipping in 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, as Ilic notched 12 points, with a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free throw line, adding six boards and five helpers.

Carson-Newman threw down a season-high five dunks. 

Carson-Newman stays at home Saturday to face the Catawba College Catawba Indians. Tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is slated for 2 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff at 1:45 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. Fans can also watch the ESN crew broadcast the game with a view on press row on YouTube.

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