Dixon leads Eagles past Lees-McRae, 99-93
Nov. 18, 2008
BANNER ELK, N.C. - Junior Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) scored the final eight points as the Carson-Newman Eagles fought off Lees-McRae 99-93 on Tuesday night in Banner Elk, N.C. to pick up their first win of the season.
Carson-Newman improves to 1-1 on the year, while Lees-McRae falls to 0-4.
Dixon stole Aaron Willey's inbounds pass and laid it in with nine seconds left to give the Eagles a four-point lead. He would step to the line and knock down a pair of free throws seconds later to seal the win. The Clinton, Tenn. native drove the right side of the lane three times in the final 90 seconds to keep LMC at bay. He finished with 13 points, all in the second half.
"(Dixon's steal) secured the win," Eagle head coach Dale Clayton said after the win. "It was good to see him step up down the stretch and shake off a slow start in our first game and a half."
The Eagles pushed out to a six point lead twice in the final 10 minutes, including an 84-78 advantage with 6:49 to play, following a Justin Walker (Knoxville, Tenn.) layup on a feed from Jared Stephens (Oak Ridge, Tenn.).
LMC answered with a 9-0 run to take an 87-84 lead after Kyle Boardman put back a Sam Youse miss with 4:24 to play. Boardman led all scorers with 21. Youse added 19 off the Bobcat bench.
"We couldn't put them away," Clayton said of LMC's answeres throughout the night. "Part of it was their ability to make threes. Part of it was that this is our second game and four of our double-digit scorers are newcomers. This is a new year and a new team. We'll get better."
Senior Jesse McMurray knotted the game at 87-87 with 3:57 to play, burying his third three-pointer of the second half. He finished the night with 12 points on 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Junior Darron Maxtion (Huntsville, Ala.) scored the Eagles next four points, which came on a pair of free throws and a two-handed dunk of a Kevin Hare (Lexington, S.C.) miss, to give the Eagles a 91-89 lead with just under two minutes to play.
Lees-McRae took its largest lead in the first half, when the Bobcats jumped up by double figures at 47-37 during a 14-0 run.
Forward Tray Okoth's (Richmond, Va.) free throw at the 3:23 mark of the first half ended the spurt.
The junior reeled off the game's next six points, and Hare knocked down a three-pointer from the corner, as C-N cut the Bobcats' lead to 49-46 at the half.
Junior Joey Cameron (Tuskegee, Ala.) poured in 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He played only 13 minutes, fouling out with five minutes to play.
Okoth finished with 18 points in 19 minutes. Stephens added 12, while Maxtion finished with 10, as the Eagles had six in double figures. Hare added 13, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.
Lees-McRae finished the night 12-of-30 from three-point range. C-N was just 9-of-23, but 6-of-8 in the second half.
Carson-Newman returns home for its next two games. The Eagles will host the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Holt Fieldhouse. Milligan College visits Mossy Creek for a 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 25.
-C-N-
