Eagles fall to Brevard in overtime, 101-97
Feb. 19, 2009
Brevard, N.C. - The Carson-Newman men's basketball team rallied from 20 points down to take a lead late in the second half but came up short in overtime as the Eagles fell 101-97 at Boshamer Gymnasium in South Atlantic Conference action.
Joseph Chilton (Brasstown, N.C.) sent the game to overtime with a trey with 10.4 seconds in regulation and hit two more outside shots in the extra period to carry Brevard to the win.
With the victory, Brevard (12-12, 3-10 SAC) ties C-N (6-18, 3-10 SAC) for the eighth and final spot in the SAC Tournament with three regular season games remaining for each team.
Jonathan Whitson (Clyde, N.C.) led all scorers with 30 points, and added 11 rebounds, while Cody Siniard tied a career-high with 16 points. Chilton and Sam Carlisle (Raleigh, N.C.) each scored 11, with Carlisle grabbing 12 rebounds, and Shane Galloway (Rosman, N.C.) and Andrew Freeman (Asheville, N.C.) each scored ten. The Tornados hit ten of 14 three-point shots (71.4 percent), shot 55.4 percent from the floor, and drained 19 of 24 free throws (79.2 percent).
Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) and Bobby Guyton (Jesup, Ga.) each scored 15 points to lead the Eagles. C-N was outrebounded, 44-28 and hit just 13 of 25 free throws (52.0 percent)
Brevard looked poised to cruise to a blowout victory after dominating the first half. The Tornados led for all but 28 seconds in the opening frame. A lay-up from Freeman pushed the lead to 22-12 with 13:30 left in the period, and a Siniard three-pointer at the 8:22 mark capped a 9-0 run and put Brevard up, 37-17. The Tornados led at the halftime break, 46-31.
The Eagles came out of the halftime locker room gunning and turned what looked like a laugher into an epic prizefight. The Eagles started the half on a 24-7 run to storm in front. A three-pointer by Guyton gave the visitors a 57-55 lead with 11:26 left in the game. After Brevard regained the lead, C-N came back with a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.) basket, to lead 70-64 with 7:01 to play.
Brevard came back to tie the game with 4:44 left on a Whitson lay-up, and another basket from Brevard's all-time leading scorer put the Tornados on top, 83-81, with 1:06 left. But Carson-Newman scored the next five points of the game and led 86-83 with 22 seconds on the clock.
Brevard called timeout and ran a set to get Chilton the ball at the top of the key. The senior canned the three-pointer to tie the game in the final ten seconds, and Dixon missed a jumper in the waning seconds that would have won the game for the Eagles.
Brevard scored ten of the first 11 points in the extra period to ease to victory. Chilton knocked down two more treys and iced the game with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left in the extra frame, and Brevard escaped with the victory.
The Eagles return to action as they travel to take on Lincoln Memorial on Saturday at 8 p.m.
