VIDEO: Postgame Presser
VIDEO: Highlights
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Trailing by 11 with 3:49 to go, Carson-Newman (21-12) outscored top-seeded and eighth-ranked Columbus State (27-4) 15-5 down the stretch, but a potential game-winning bucket at the horn was a touch long and the host Cougars hung on for a 75-74 win in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at the Lumpkin Center.
Columbus State advances to the round of the 32 to face the winner of fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial and fifth-seeded UNC Pembroke Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
"For a fan, that was a great game," head coach Chuck Benson said. "Congrats to Columbus State, they shot the ball well from distance and made it tough for us to get good looks offensively. We got to see the best version of them today. I would be remiss if I didn't say how proud I was of our guys. The fight from them striving to do the things that we felt like we needed to do to lead us to victory was tremendous. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to lead us to victory."
C-N trailed 70-59 with four minutes to go. Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) jump-started the rally with a top of the key three. Then, Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) took over. He scored the next 10 points of the game for C-N.
"Some of our more traditional attacks were coming up short, so it made the most sense to put the ball in Trey's hands and let him go create," Benson said. "He did that and then some. He was the catalyst for that run. Other guys fed off of his paint touch. The difference was when he got downhill into the paint."
Hubbard got the Eagles within two with a solo 6-0 run with 2:13 to go after back-to-back and-ones. Jordan Mitchell connected on just his eighth three of the season to put CSU up five with 92 seconds left. Hubbard answered again with a layup before the Eagles got a stop and two Jack Browder free throws with 36 seconds left to pull within one.
C-N got the stop it needed with 5.5 seconds left with John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) seizing the rebound after a Jarrett Adderton miss.
Hubbard got north-south in a hurry and attacked the left side of the basket. His layup was a touch long, bouncing high into the air and into the grasp of Jehloni James who secured the board and the win for CSU.
"If you really want to advance in this tournament, you have to defend and rebound at a high level," Benson said. "I thought our guys were doing that. They capitalized on their distance shooting. We have won a ton of games this year when we've dominated inside and crashed the glass. We knew it had to be right, and our guys did a pretty good job of that. Credit Columbus though, they had some players step up and make some long shots."
Carson-Newman owned a 40-37 advantage on the glass and outscored Columbus State 9-5 in second chance points after grabbing 12 offensive rebounds. C-N outscored CSU 38-26 in the paint.
However, C-N, the country's most efficient shooting team, struggled to get shots to fall. The Eagles were a season-low 37.9 percent from the field and 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) from deep. Conversely, Columbus State connected on 44.4 percent of its shots and went 10-of-28 from beyond the arc. Harp Hunter and Mitchell had combined to make 10 threes all season, that pair was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
PeachBelt Conference Player of the Year Adderton led all scorers with 22 points. Aderton was 8-of-19 from the field and 1-for-4 from deep. He also grabbed eight boards and dished out five assists.
Mitchell, who came in averaging five points per game, finished with 16. James had 16 as well, going 4-of-7 from deep and 5-of-10 from the field.
Hubbard led C-N in scoring with 21 points. He was 6-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 at the stripe.
Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) produced his 25th career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Ilic rounded out C-N's double-digit scorers with 15 points and seven boards. He was 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The loss closes out the careers of Nick Brenegan, Joshuwa Butts, Ousmane Dia, Hubbard, Cam McElhaney, Tate Mulkey and John Zhao.
"It's not like we're closing a chapter, we're closing an entire book," Benson said. "Cam, Nick and Joshuwa have been the gold standard for the last five years. We're around each other a lot, so there's a lot of conversation about futures and goals. I'm sad to have them leaving, but I'm excited for what they will do once they leave here."
For the latest offseason news and information about Carson-Newman basketball, follow @CN_Eagles on Twitter and check cneagles.com for updates.
