C-N set to honor trio with Senior Day versus Lenoir-Rhyne
February 27, 2026

C-N set to honor trio with Senior Day versus Lenoir-Rhyne

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-9, 13-8 South Atlantic Conference) will look to send its senior class out in style when it plays its final game of the regular season against Lenoir-Rhyne (22-7, 16-5 SAC) Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse at 4 p.m. 

C-N Game Notes

VIDEO: On Press Row

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-9, 13-8 South Atlantic Conference) will look to send its senior class out in style when it plays its final game of the regular season against Lenoir-Rhyne (22-7, 16-5 SAC) Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse at 4 p.m. 

Carson-Newman and LR have both locked up spots in the SAC tournament.  The Eagles are eighth in the second of three region ranking releases for the Southeast, while the Bears are second in the listing that goes on to determine the field for the NCAA tournament.   

Lenoir-Rhyne can finish no worse than a tie for second in the South Atlantic Conference. A win by LR would secure the two seed for next week's SAC tournament.  A win by C-N coupled with a Catawba win over UVA Wise and a Newberry win at Lincoln Memorial would propel the Indians to the two seed. 

Carson-Newman enters the contest tied with Lincoln Memorial and UVA Wise, who plays Catawba) for fourth in the league standings.  The Eagles can be seeded anywhere from fourth to sixth based on Saturday's action. A win by C-N coupled with a LMU loss is the only path for C-N to get the four seed. A Carson-Newman loss combined with a UVA Wise win would drop C-N to the six seed. 

Carson-Newman will pay homage to three seniors Saturday in Braden Ilic, Keliese Frye and Jack Browder. Browder is the lone four-year player of the trio. He has been involved in 75 wins, the second most for a senior class in the Eagles' NCAA era. The most is 77, by last year's senior class.

Ilic has been one of the best passing big men in the SAC over the last two seasons.  Ilic has started all 59 games of his Carson-Newman career.  He has 18 career games with at least five assists and has led C-N in assists 24 times in his career. Ilic sits on 719 career points and 221 career dimes.  He is the school's single-game blocks record holder, swatting 10 shots on Nov. 29 this season against Augusta. Ilic's career 1.3 blocks per game is fifth all-time. 

Frye has been a star turned as a defensive stopper in his senior season for C-N.  Frye's 52 steals this season are fifth in the SAC and rank ninth for a single season in school history. Frye has been on another level in the month of February, registering at least three steals in five straight games.  Frye has 272 points in his Eagle career and 28 dunks this season.  His 28 jams are the second most in a single season to Josh Murray's 37 in 2017-18.  He is one of five players in the NCAA era of Carson-Newman men's basketball with 30 career dunks. 

Finally, there's All-America and SAC Player of the Year Candidate Jack Browder. 

Jack Browder enters the contest on 2,029 career points.  He is fifth all-time in scoring in Carson-Newman history and fifth in South Atlantic Conference history.  Browder is fifth among active NCAA Division II players in career scoring and 15th among all players in all divisions.  Steve "Twintime" Adams is fourth in Carson-Newman history in scoring with 2,034 points, Browder is five points away from him.  Luquon Choice of Lincoln Memorial sits in fourth place in league history with 2,039 points - Browder is 10 points away from him. 

With 877 career rebounds, Browder is fourth among active Division II players in career rebounds.  Browder, plus Hall of Famers Mike Ogan and Tommy Everette are the only three members of the 1,500/700 club in Carson-Newman history.  Browder is the only player in the NCAA era to do that. 

Browder is one of three active players in college basketball with 2,000 career points and 800 career rebounds.  Carl Cleveland at Young Harris and Gonzaga's Graham Ike are the only others in the NCAA.  Browder's 877 rebounds are the fifth-most in school history and seventh in SAC history.  He needs 12 more rebounds to equal Wingate's Bryan Grier (2003-08) for sixth on the league's all-time rebounding list with 889. 

With 38 career double-doubles, Browder already has career mark for Carson-Newman for all-time double-doubles (at least in the NCAA era where we have game-by-game stats).  He has the most double-doubles among active NCAA Division II players. He has the eighth-most double-doubles amongst players in all divisions. Browder's 13 double-doubles this year lead the SAC and are fourth nationally.

Browder is the only player in NCAA Division II to lead his league in scoring and rebounding. Browder is also the only player in the country in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding.  Browder is sixth in scoring at 24.3 points per game and 17th in rebounding at 9.6 boards per game. 

Browder has 656 points this season.  His next bucket will bring him even with Charles Clark for the most points scored in a year in C-N's NCAA era. Clark scored 658 points in his All-America and SAC Player of the Year campaign as a junior.  Browder is averaging 24.3 points per game this season.  If he maintains that average, he will join Mike Ogan as the only player in school history to average more than 24 a game.  Ogan did it twice, including a school-record 26.3 ppg as a senior in 1973-74. 

Browder is three threes away from becoming the 12th player in school history with 200 threes made for a career 

Carson-Newman has won five straight games.  The Eagles are looking for their first six-game win streak since winning six straight in November last season. 

Carson-Newman celebrates senior day and wraps up the regular season Saturday against Lenoir-Rhyne.  Tipoff between the Eagles and Bears 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.  A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMbb. Fans can watch the ESN crew broadcast the game with a view of press row on YouTube. 

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