JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Carson-Newman closed out the game with a 20-5 run and held Tusculum without a field goal in the final eight minutes as the Eagles defeated the Pioneers 95-84 Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action.
Carson-Newman (8-5, 5-2 SAC) snaps a two-year drought to the Pioneers (6-6, 3-4 SAC) in Jefferson City as the Pioneers missed their final 14 shots from the floor.
C-N's Malik Abraham led four players in double figures with his 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Teammate Shaun Jones posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards, Charles Clark added 17 points and Sawyer Williams poured in 16 points off the bench.
Tusculum senior guard Kendall Patterson matched a career-high with his 27-point performance as he went 9-of-16 from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point territory. Senior center Chase Mounce tallied 17 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Cory Fagan added 10 markers, including a pair of treys in the loss.
The contest was a back and forth contest which included seven ties and 14 lead changes, including 10 in the first half alone. Neither team led by more than four points the first 17 minutes. Leading 41-38 with 3:28 left in the half, C-N got a Zack Pangallo three-pointer and a Jones' layup as the Eagles took a 46-38 advantage with under three minutes to go before the intermission.
Tusculum sophomore Zach Hartle trimmed the deficit to 46-40 with his two free throws, before Pangallo answered with his second trifecta of the half to push the C-N lead to 49-40 with 1:38 remaining.
Fagan buried a three-pointer with 33 seconds left before Abraham answered with a two-point basket for the Eagles with six seconds left. Patterson drove down the floor and drained a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Pioneers trailed 51-46 heading to the locker room.
Tusculum opened the second half with an 11-7 run capped off by a Fagan layup to cut the C-N lead to 58-57 with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
Carson-Newman led 60-59 and pushed the lead back out to eight thanks to an 11-4 spurt with Reece Anderson connecting on a pair of free throws as the Eagles led 71-63 with 11:52 to go.
Tusculum regained the lead with a 16-4 run over a span of 4:34 which included three 3-pointers from Patterson and 3-point bucket from rookie Trey Blevins as the Pioneers led 79-75 with 8:18 remaining. The TC run was capped off by a layup from Zach Davis, which would prove to be the last made field goal for the Pioneers on the night.
C-N's Cameron Holmes trimmed the deficit to one with his three-pointer with 6:56 on the scoreboard. Blevins pushed the lead back out to three (81-78) with his two free throws at the 6:34 mark.
Tusculum would go without a point for the next three minutes while the Eagles scored six unanswered including a pair of layups from Williams and two Jones' free throws as Carson-Newman regained the lead for good at 84-81 with 4:14 remaining.
Patterson made one of two free throws to pull the Pioneers back to within 84-82 with 3:37 on the clock. But Abraham would score the next four points, while Charles Clark made one of two free throws as the Eagles led by seven (89-82) with 1:10 on the scoreboard.
TC freshman Keaton Dotson was fouled as he made his two free throws with 47.6 seconds left to trim the deficit to 89-84. But the Eagles closed out the game scoring the final six points to seal the victory.
Carson-Newman finished the game shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, including 9-of-18 from three-point territory. Tusculum finished at 41 percent, including 11-of-36 in the second half (31%). TC went 12-of-26 from the three-point land for 46.2 percent and was a respectable 18-of-23 from the free throw line (78.3%). C-N finished the night shooting 75.9 percent (22-of-29) from the foul line, including 17-of-21 (81%) in the second half.
Carson-Newman out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 41-34 margin and out-scored TC in the paint 44-26. C-N records its first home win over their in-state rivals since Nov. 20, 2013. Since 2003, the Pioneers own an11-4 record against the Eagles in Jefferson City. During that same span, the Eagles are 8-7 against Tusculum in Greeneville.
With his two 3-pointers, Fagan moves into sole possession of sixth place in program history with his 166 career treys, moving past former All-SAC guard Pat Compton (165, 1999-2003). Fagan also extends his remarkable streak of connecting on a three-point field to a school-record 28 consecutive games.
Tusculum returns to action on Saturday as the Pioneers travel to Eleazer Arena to take on Newberry for a 4 p.m. contest in Newberry, South Carolina.
