JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Carson-Newman’s Trey Hubbard scored 28 of his game-high 30 points in the first half but the nationally-ranked Eagles had to fend off a late-charging Tusculum squad in a 95-91 South Atlantic Conference win Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman (6-1, 2-0 SAC) recorded its first home win over its in-state rival since Jan. 15, 2020 snapping a three-game skid to the Pioneers in Jefferson City.
Hubbard went 13-of-15 from the floor including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point territory for the Eagles who are ranked 24th in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll and 20th in the D2CSC Media Poll. He paced five C-N players in double figures as John Zhao added 23 points, Jack Browder posted 18 points and 13 rebounds, while the duo of Nick Brenegen and Braden Ilic tallied 11 markers apiece.
Tusculum sophomore Bryce Jackson scored a career-high 26 points, surpassing last year’s 24-point effort against the Eagles in Greeneville. The freshman twin duo of Taj and Denaj Kimber scored 19 and 14 points respectively, while rookie guard Jason Britton tallied 10 points in the loss.
Carson-Newman sprinted out to a 25-9 lead to start the game and led 57-43 at halftime behind Hubbard’s sizzling shooting performance going 12-of-13 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
But the youthful TU squad clawed back into the mix and used a 12-2 run in the second half as the Pioneers erased the 16-point deficit and led 81-80 with 6:44 remaining in the game. Jackson accounted for seven points during the Tusculum as the Pioneers took its first lead of the evening.
The Eagles regained the lead thanks to a Browder layup and a triple from Brenegan as C-N went up 85-81 with 5:55 left. Both teams would experience a rare drought until TU senior center Akeem Odusipe made a layup with 4:16 to go as the Pioneers trailed 85-83.
Browder converted two free throws to make it a four-point game (87-83), but Denaj Timber made one of two free throws to make it a one-possession game (87-84) with 3:22 on the clock.
Carson-Newman missed its next shot, but the Eagles came down with one of their 11 offensive rebounds as Ilic was fouled and he would make one of two free throws to push the lead to 88-84 with 3:04 remaining.
Taj Kimber and Browder exchanged baskets on the ensuing possessions as C-N led 90-86 with 2:23 on the scoreboard.
Tusculum (0-5, 0-1 SAC) missed on its next trip down the floor, but Denaj Kimber came up with a steal and Taj Kimber was fouled with 1:24 remaining. The rookie missed his two free throw tries and Brenegan connected on a clutch triple with 1:06 left to increase the C-N lead to 93-86.
Denaj Kimber answered with a three-point play of his own with 54 second left to get TU to within four (93-88). Kimber would come up with another steal to give TU a chance to cut into the lead. Tusculum would get off three shots but none would fall as Browder came down with the rebound and was fouled with 20 seconds left. He made both free throws to extend the advantage to 95-89. Britton connected on a layup with eight seconds left but it would be too little, too late for the visitors.
Carson-Newman finished the game shooting 55 percent from the floor including 22-of-35 (63%) in the first half. TU finished shooting a season-high 48 percent and outscored the Eagles 48-38 in the second half. C-N held a 41-33 advantage on the boards and had a 48-26 advantage in points in the paint.
TU’s Malachi Hale added nine points and six rebounds, while Odusipe tallied seven points and team-high eight rebounds. Josiah Morris went scoreless but dished out a career-high six assists.
Tusculum will close out its season-long, six-game road swing on Saturday when they travel to Wingate for a 4 p.m. contest.
