Brenegan, Ilic provide second half boost, No. 21 Eagles swat Wasps 91-75
November 26, 2024

Brenegan, Ilic provide second half boost, No. 21 Eagles swat Wasps 91-75

EMORY, Va. – No. 21 Carson-Newman (7-2, 3-1 South Atlantic Conference) dropped 58 points after halftime on 73.1 percent shooting to blow the barn doors off the thing and roll to a 91-75 win over Emory & Henry (2-5, 0-3 SAC) Tuesday night at The King Center. 

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Braden Ilic Interview

EMORY, Va. – No. 21 Carson-Newman (7-2, 3-1 South Atlantic Conference) dropped 58 points after halftime on 73.1 percent shooting to blow the barn doors off the thing and roll to a 91-75 win over Emory & Henry (2-5, 0-3 SAC) Tuesday night at The King Center. 

The night was headlined by a 24-point night from Nick Brenegan (Greenville, S.C.).  He drilled six-of-eight threes to move past his older brother and assistant coach Luke Brenegan and into fourth on C-N's all-time threes list. Luke now sits in fifth with 221, while the younger Brenegan bro has 223 all-time. 

"I thought so much about Luke Brenegan that I made him assistant coach after he was our point guard for five years," head coach Chuck Benson said. "Nobody is happier for Nick to pass Luke than big brother Luke.  They will always have this neat thing of having a ring together here and following one another into the 1,000-point club. As good as Luke was, let's be honest, Nick is better.  That's just that." 

Brenegan was instrumental in a separating run for C-N in the second half.

C-N and E&H muddled through the first half.  The Eagles carried a 33-30 lead into the halftime lockerroom after neither team could get a shot over the final three minutes of the opening stanza.  The teams combined to miss their final 13 shots of the period. 

The Eagles turned a tight game into a double-digit affair after the under-16 media timeout.  Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) started the run with an and-one before Brenegan capped a 12-3 burst with three straight threes.  The surge gave C-N a 54-42 lead with 14:32 to go in the game. 

E&H would whittle the deficit down to four after a Korbin Dixon right-wing three with 10:35 to go, but C-N answered with a 7-0 run after back-to-back John Zhao (Sevierville, Tenn.) layups and three Trey Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) free throws.  C-N would lead by double digits for the remainder of the game. 

C-N put up 58 points in the second half en route to an 18th straight win over the Wasps in the series.  C-N connected on 19-of-26 shots after halftime and 9-of-11 threes. 

"They defend well, and I like what Jimmy Allen is doing with his defense in year one," Benson said. "It's not that we played poorly that first half, but we just couldn't find as many opportunities and good shots.  The second half, it loosened up and everyone was feeling more comfortable. We thought we saw some opportunities.  Luke (Brenegan) did a nice job with some key calls and we were able to capitalize in that stretch. It's one thing to get open, it's another thing to make them.  Our guys made open shots tonight." 

C-N handed out 23 assists on its 33 made baskets.  

Ilic was the primary distributor.  He chased a triple-double with 17 points, all in the second half, nine assists, seven boards and four blocks.  He becomes the first Eagle to lead C-N in four statistical categories since Jack Browder did so against Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 10 last season. 

Ilic reset his career marks for points, assists and blocks. 

 

"Whenever Braden starts looking at himself like I look at him, he can be an incredible college player," Benson said. "When he comes to terms with that reality and is confident, today will look like child's play. He did this after tweaking his ankle in the first half.  To see him have this kind of day, I'm not surprised at all."   

All five starters finished in double-digits for C-N. 

Zhao had a quiet 19 for C-N. He was 8-of-12 from the field and three-of-five from deep.  Zhao added in six boards. 

Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Hubbard both finished with 13 points.  Hubbard dolled out six assists and tallied two steals.  Browder had six boards and was six-of-eight from the floor. 

C-N shot 56.9 percent from the field for the game, an eighth consecutive game for C-N on the plus side of 50 percent, something C-N has never done before under head coach Chuck Benson. 

E&H was 38.7 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from three (9-of-32).  Dixon led the Wasps with 14 points.  Jackson Crawford and Gabe Brown each had 10. 

C-N outscored E&H on the break 13-2, but the Wasps had a 16-6 edge in second chance points after grabbing 14 rebounds. 

C-N breaks for Thanksgiving before taking on Anderson at the Abney Athletic Center Saturday at 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 p.m. with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.

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