GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Carson-Newman College men's basketball team rallied from an 11-point second half deficit as the Eagles defeated in-state foe Tusculum College 86-81, Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena in South Atlantic Conference action.

Carson-Newman (11-3, 4-1 SAC) shot 54 percent from the floor, including 17-for-25 (68%) in the second half. C-N placed five players in double-figure scoring, led by Jordan Dixon's 17 points and six assists. Andrew Johnson added 14 points, while Andy Tipton and Cameron Sharp finished with a dozen markers each. Zach Hyatte recorded 11 points, three blocks and five rebounds in the victory.

Tusculum's Kyle Moore led the home team with 24 points, including five 3-pointers. Jimmy Boone tallied 18 points, including 13 in the second half, while Ryan Troutman finished with 10 points and five rebounds as the Pioneers had their three-game winning streak halted.

The contest was a defensive struggle in the first half, as both teams would hold six-point leads in the opening period. Tusculum would use a 13-6 run late in the first half before heading into the locker room with a 36-33 advantage.

In the second half, Tusculum opened with 12-2 spurt in the first 4:15 to take its biggest lead of the night at 48-37. Boone and Moore each posted five points during the run.

With Tusculum leading 54-43 at the 12:50 mark of the period, C-N put together a 20-10 spurt over the next 4:56 and cut the deficit to one (64-63) with 7:56 remaining following a three-pointer by Darren Williams.

Following a pair of free throws by Troutman, C-N answered with another trey by Darren Williams as the Eagles tied the game at 66-66. Tipton gave the Eagles their first lead since the 8:58 mark of the first half, with his reverse lay-up with 6:41 remaining in the game (68-66). Johnson added a pair of free throws to move C-N out to a 70-66 advantage.

The Eagles would increase their advantage to 74-68 following a lay-up by Hyatte with 4:25 remaining. Tusculum responded with an 11-4 run to retake the lead on Moore's three-pointer with 1:38 left on the clock. But 12 seconds later, Dixon got the lead back for C-N with his three-pointer as the Eagles led 81-79. After a miss by Tusculum on the ensuing possession, the Eagles worked the shot clock down and with 22.3 seconds remaining in the game, Scott Williams made a three-pointer, while falling to the floor to seal the win for C-N.

The Eagles, who entered the game as the top free throw shooting team in the conference, shot 87.5 percent from the charity stripe, including 11-for-11 in the second half. In fact, C-N made its final 15 free throws, including a 6-for-6 effort by Dixon.

Tusculum returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Newberry College for a 6 p.m. league contest. C-N will be at Brevard College on Wednesday in a non-conference battle.