Defensively-dominant, ball-secure Eagles smother ‘Splitters 74-65
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (14-9, 9-8 South Atlantic Conference) turned it over a season-low five times while limiting Lincoln Memorial (14-9, 10-7 South Atlantic Conference) to 39.1 percent shooting in a 74-65 win over the Railsplitters Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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|
32 | 42 | 74 |
|
|
28 | 37 | 65 |
VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Matt Bilbrey Interview
VIDEO: Keliese Frye Interview
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (14-9, 9-8 South Atlantic Conference) turned it over a season-low five times while limiting Lincoln Memorial (14-9, 10-7 South Atlantic Conference) to 39.1 percent shooting in a 74-65 win over the Railsplitters Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
The win snaps LMU's five-game win streak in the series and a 10-game losing streak for C-N in Harrogate. Carson-Newman hadn't beaten LMU at Tex Turner Arena since February 2015. LMU had won 72 of their last 73 home league games dating back to 2019.
After coughing up 19 turnovers in a 70-58 loss to the Railsplitters in early January in Holt Fieldhouse, C-N turned in a masterclass of ball control. C-N had five turnovers, including just one after halftime.
"That right there was a big point we made to our team and we challenged them on," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We not only met our targets, we far exceeded that. They've only lost one game in here all year prior to tonight, we knew we had to take care of the basketball for that to work."
The Railsplitters entered Wednesday's game leading the league and 25th nationally in turnovers forced per game. The five for C-N are the fewest by an LMU opponent this season. It also marked a season-low for C-N in the turnover column. The Eagles hadn't produced five or fewer giveaways in a game since Feb. 8, 2025 in a 111-104 win over Newberry.
Carson-Newman forced eight LMU turnovers and scored off every one of them. C-N had a 16-9 edge in points off turnovers.
The Eagles took advantage of a game in which the officials let the teams play. Only 16 fouls were called between the two teams. In fact, with both teams frequently driving in the first half, the officials only signaled one foul out of five total on drives to the rim.
"We can't control officiating, it's a really challenging job that they have," Benson said. "We've been encouraging our guys to show more poise and trust in their faithfulness in Christ to choose the right response over things we can't control. I continued to be proud of their evolution as it pertained to their poise tonight."
The beat-and-bang nature of the game ended up helping C-N get separation. LMU opened the game on a 9-2 run to grab an early seven point lead.
C-N erased it and grabbed a lead it would not relinquish with 6:25 to go in the first half with a 9-0 run. Rylan Houck (Oxford, Ala.) and Matt Bilbrey (Crossville, Tenn.) bookended the burst with threes.
C-N carried a 32-28 lead into the halftime lockerroom.
The Eagles surged to start the second half. Carson-Newman exploded on a 19-2 run while LMU went through a stretch where it made 2-of-8 shots to start the period. Houck, Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) and Bilbrey made three straight threes to stretch the lead to double-digits.
Carson-Newman led 51-33 when the dust settled after an NBA-range Bilbrey three from the head of the key with 13:49 to go.
LMU did respond with three straight threes and an 11-0 run to bring the game back inside single digits three minutes later.
The Railsplitters would get as close as three, 61-58, with 4:21 to go. However, Carson-Newman responded with a 6-0 run and would lead by at least three possessions for the rest of the game. Bilbrey capped the spurt with back-to-back buckets.
For just the third time this season, the SAC's leading scorer Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) didn't lead Carson-Newman in scoring.
Instead, Carson-Newman got a sixth-career 20-point game from Bilbrey who led all scorers with 20 points. Bilbrey canned 4-of-8 threes and was 7-of-17 from the field.
Keliese Frye (Newport, Tenn.) collected his first career double-double while also setting new career highs for both points and rebounds.
Frye had 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He was 3-for-5 at the line. Frye snagged 12 boards, four of which were on the offensive glass. Frye led C-N in rebounds, assists, blocks (one) and steals (three) to become the first player in 14 years to lead C-N in those four categories without also leading C-N in scoring.
"I thought our OC Luke Brenegan did a really good job today in our preparation for what we presumed they were going to do defensively," Benson said. "Our players did a great job of preparing and following through in a consistent fashion. Scout discipline is a thing a lot of teams struggle with. You have a plan, but then the ability to execute that plan is what is most important. Keliese was able to capitalize on that based on that strategy. We slowed down and made really good decisions tonight. So much respect and love to our players for following through the way they did."
While Browder didn't lead C-N in scoring, he did produce his 37th career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He also crested 1,900 career points in the win.
Houck rounded out C-N's quartet of double-digit scorers with 10.
Jayden Spearman led LMU's offensive attack with 16. He made 4-of-9 threes.
EJ Smith had 11 off the bench, while Walter Campbell had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Carson-Newman shot 42.9 percent from the field for the game, but 9-of-20 (45 percent) from three. The Eagles canned 6-of-13 threes after halftime. LMU finished 9-of-29 from beyond the arc.
C-N had a 36-35 edge on the glass. While both teams had 10 offensive boards, LMU outscored C-N 14-9 in second chance points.
C-N had more success inside, with a 34-28 edge in points in the paint. The Eagles also won the battle in transition, outscoring LMU 15-4 in fast break points.
"We defended well, we got to the free throw line, minimized their free throw attempts and had more rebounds," Benson said. "On top of that, we took care of the basketball. Kudos to our guys for following through with what our objective and plan was. This three-game stretch – at Wise, Anderson and LMU – is probably our toughest stretch in our conference season. To come out 2-1, I'm elated for our guys. We've taken another step in the right direction with our improvement."
Carson-Newman returns to Holt Fieldhouse Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Wingate. Pregame 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. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMbb. Fans can also watch the Eagle Sports Network crew at work with a look on press row available on YouTube.
Team Stats
Lincoln Memorial
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Lincoln Memorial |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (27-63) | (25-64) |
| Field Goal % | 42.9% | 39.1% |
| Rebounds | 36 | 35 |
| Assists | 13 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 8 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 16 | 9 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 34 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 3 | 18 |
