C-N's rally falls short at LMU, 73-70
Feb. 22, 2009
HARROGATE, TN - On Saturday night, in front of the second largest crowd to ever watch an LMU men's basketball game in the Tex Turner Arena, the Railsplitter men's basketball team knocked off the Eagles of Carson-Newman College 73-70 to assure themselves of their first winning season in conference play since the 2002-03 campaign.
Saturday's win was almost the one that got away from the Railsplitters. After a slow start in the first half, the Railsplitters managed to hold a small lead and really got things rolling around the midway point of the first stanza. Once LMU got on a roll, it seemed like nothing could stop them. By the 3:11 mark, to fans it must have looked like the Railsplitters were ready to blow-out the Eagles as LMU took a 20-point advantage. By the end of the half, the Railsplitters were on top 41-27 when they went into the locker room and the 2,700-plus fans were left in a festive frenzy.
Following the intermission, the teams took the floor in the second half ready for battle. LMU managed to push the lead back out to 20 on a basket by freshman Desmond Johnson with 14:22 left to play, but that was when survival mode kicked in for the Eagles. Carson-Newman somehow managed to shift the momentum and began slowly chipping away at the Railsplitter lead. In less than five minutes at 10:08, CN had cut the Railsplitter lead in half and trailed by only nine 57-48.
The Eagles kept up their relentless pressure and continued to force the Railsplitters into turnover after turnover. By the 4:32 mark, Carson-Newman bent LMU as much as they could without breaking them when they tied the game at 62 all. It was the closest Carson-Newman had been since the opening tip and both teams realized it was going to be a fight down the stretch to see who would win.
Freshman Brandon Armstrong hit a jumper with 3:55 to play that gave LMU a 64-62 lead. That basket provided the Railsplitters with a 2-point cushion that helped them stay just out of the Eagle's reach the remainder of the game and the Railsplitters eventually escaped with a 73-70 win.
Sophomore D'Mario Curry led LMU with 20 points on 8-10 shooting from the field while going 4-6 at the free throw line. Freshman Brandon Armstrong also turned in a big offensive performance of 16 points, while senior Wadner Joseph added 12 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes on the floor.
Carson-Newman put four players in double figures and was led in scoring by Darron Maxtion who scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Teammates Jessse McMurry and Jordan Dixon each finished with 11, while Adam Plavich came off the bench to score 10 in the loss.
(Courtesy LMU Sports Info)
