Eagles fall to SAC rival Tusculum, 62-53
Jan. 17, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman failed to overcome a poor second half shooting performance as it fell to Tusculum College 62-53 Saturday night in South Atlantic Conference play at Holt Fieldhouse.
The Eagles shot just 28 percent (7-of-25) from the field over the final 20 minutes as they were outscored 31-19.
With the loss, C-N falls to 5-11 overall and 2-3 in the SAC. Tusculum improves to 10-6 and 2-3 in conference play.
C-N shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) for the game, including just 6-of-25 from 3-point range. Tusculum had an even worse offensive night than C-N, shooting 36.5 percent (19-of-52), but 14 offensive rebounds and an 18-for-20 night from the free-throw line helped the Pioneers overcome their shooting woes.
Joey Cameron (Tuskegee, Ala.) paced the Eagles with 18 points, grabbed six rebounds and had four steals. Bobby Guyton (Jesup, Ga.) and Adam Plavich (Dalton, Ga.) tossed in six points each in the loss.
Junior guard Kyle Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) fired in 25 points to lead Tusculum, while Ryan Troutman (Mt. Washington, Ky.) added 13 points and eight rebounds.
A putback by Guyton with 52 seconds left in the first half gave C-N a 34-31 lead heading into the locker room.
The Eagles pushed their lead to 38-31 to open the second half on a pair of layups by Cameron, but the Pioneers ripped off a 10-2 run capped by a Wes Taylor 3-pointer to take a 41-40 lead with 14:33 remaining.
The lead then changed hands three more times before Tusculum went ahead for good at 45-44 on a Taylor jumper with 12:41 left.
Tusculum went on to outscore the Eagles 17-9 to close out the game.
Carson-Newman returns to the hardwood on Wednesday against SAC foe Brevard College. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
