Carson-Newman drops 67-53 decision to Lenoir-Rhyne
Feb. 11, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman men's basketball team fell to Lenoir-Rhyne 67-53 Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
The Eagles couldn't overcome a poor offensive night as they shot 32 percent (16-of-50) from the field, including a 5-for-20 (25 percent) effort from 3-point range. C-N also made just 16-of-31 (51.6 percent) attempts from the free-throw line.
With the loss, C-N drops to 6-16 overall and 3-8 in SAC play. L-R improves to 13-9 and 8-4 in the conference.
Jesse McMurray (Weber City, Va.) tossed in 11 points to lead C-N, while Zach Hyatte (Dayton, Tenn.) finished with 10 points. Andrew Johnson (Cairo, Ga.) added nine points, and Joey Cameron (Tuskegee, Ala.) chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
Josh Rudder fired in 28 points, including a 5-for-8 night from 3-point range, to lead L-R. D.J. Blackmon netted 10 points in the win.
The Bears shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor and were 8-of-20 (40 percent) from behind the arc.
The Eagles led just two times in the first half, with its last being a 7-5 lead after Hyatte sank a jumper at the 14:59 mark.
L-R then took control of the game by going on a 19-5 run capped by a Rudder 3-pointer with 5:51 remaining to give the Bears a 24-12 advantage. The Eagles made just one basket the rest of the half as they went into the locker room trailing 27-15.
C-N shot 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from the field during the first 20 minutes and was just 1-of-10 from behind the arc.
The Bears quickly pushed their lead to 21 to open the second half by going on a 9-0 run to take a 36-15 lead on a layup by Blackmon at the 18:24 mark.
The Eagles were unable to cut L-R's lead to below 12 the rest of the way.
C-N returns to the hardwood on Saturday in a SAC matchup at Tusculum. Tipoff is set to start at 4 p.m.
