Browder’s big day, dynamite defense lead to C-N road dub at Lander
November 22, 2025

Browder’s big day, dynamite defense lead to C-N road dub at Lander

GREENWOOD, S.C. – Carson-Newman (3-0) got a 30-point, 15-rebound double-double from Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) and used a man-to-man defense to confound Lander (2-1) into a rough shooting night in a 74-61 win over the Bearcats Saturday afternoon at Finis Horne Arena. 

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Jack Browder Interview

VIDEO: Isaac Stamper Interview

GREENWOOD, S.C. – Carson-Newman (3-0) got a 30-point, 15-rebound double-double from Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) and used a man-to-man defense to confound Lander (2-1) into a rough shooting night in a 74-61 win over the Bearcats Saturday afternoon at Finis Horne Arena. 

The win gives Carson-Newman its second 3-0 start in the last two years and its first over Lander since 2018-19. 

C-N held the Bearcats to 35.7 percent shooting and a 5-of-25 mark (20 percent) from beyond the arc. 

"I was trying to explain to our guys postgame how proud I was of this performance," head coach Chuck Benson said. "We didn't make a big deal about this because we have a veteran crew who knows the lay of the land in this region.  Winning here is difficult. Case Roach, one of our assistants who played at North Georgia, had never won here. We won in an impressive fashion.  Almost had to bang the drum a bit to say that it's ok to have some positive emotion. Our guys came down here and, especially on the defensive side of the ball, put together our most complete performance of this new season." 

Browder's 30-point night was the sixth of his career.  He 15 boards were one off his career high.  It is his second career 30 and 15 game.  He was C-N's lone double-digit scorer on the day. 

"He is such a competitor," Benson said. "We're so fortunate that he is here and never left.  As a coach, I'm a basketball fan.  Even though he plays for me, the fan in me enjoys watching him.  It's something that hopefully rubs off on our other guys.  We obviously don't win without his 30 and 15 today."   

Browder was 10-of-21 from the floor and knocked down 5-of-8 threes.  He also dished out two assists. 

With his scoring line, he moved past John Zhao and into the top 20 all-time in scoring in Carson-Newman men's basketball history.  He has 1,433 points in his career. 

Keliese Frye (Newport, Ky.) and Matt Bilbrey (Crossville, Tenn.) both had nine. 

C-N spent the night before the game enjoying fine dining in Traveler's Rest, S.C. at team physician John McGraw's house feasting upon piles of smoked ribs.  Benson attributed the pregame meal to the win. 

"I have to give credit to Doc's ribs for the win," Benson said. "His ribs did not need sauce.  They were seasoned properly, and he put down a spread that ultimately led us to victory." 

Carson-Newman turned a tight back and forth contest into a comfortable margin in the first half.  The teams swapped leads seven times and were tied on six occasions in the first 13 minutes of the game.  Then C-N exploded with a 10-0 run. 

Frye got back-to-back second chance buckets before Browder and Bilbrey canned consecutive threes to put the Eagles ahead 27-20 with 6:42 to go in the first half.  Carson-Newman would not trail again.  Four minutes later, Isaac Stamper (Middletown, Ohio) capped a 7-0 run with a wing three and a driving layup to give C-N a double-digit lead it would never relinquish.  Carson-Newman led 43-30 at the break and by as many as 19 after halftime. 

"We got stops," Benson said. "I have to give credit to our staff for cooking up a different strategy than we normally use. We prepared to use our zone in a minimal capacity, which is exactly what we did. Our staff crafted that plan, then our players executed that plan.  They did it with great attention to detail.  Their follow through was strong, they went out, were focused and did it.  That is such a high-level offensive team, for us to stay determined in that elite execution."

Carson-Newman shot 45.8 percent from the field for the game.  That number was above 50 for much of the game, but took a tumble late after C-N missed 13 of its final 16 shots over the final 10 minutes of the game. 

Still Carson-Newman's defense was strong enough to secure the win.  Lander never made more than three shots in a row.  The Bearcats entered the contest as the second most-efficient offense in the Peach Belt.  C-N held them to 35.7 percent shooting and 34.2 percent after halftime.  Lander was 2-of-13 from deep in the second half. 

Terry Leonard led Lander with 18 points.  He was 7-of-18 from the field and 3-of-8 from deep.  Jacob Daniels was the only other double-digit scorer.  He had 11 on 5-of-16 shooting.   

"Omar Wattad is an exceptional game manager," Benson said. "He orchestrates so well.  I would love to steal his clipboard. Nick Brenegan said that we had to find a way to guard Omar, and I think that is a very profound statement.  In a slight way, I think we caught them a little off guard and made them make some in-game adjustments." 

C-N outboarded Lander 43-39 and had an 11-5 edge in second chance points.  C-N did turn the ball over more times than the Bearcats – 11-9, but owned a 15-6 edge in points off turnovers. 

The Eagles' transition game worked well to the tune of a 19-0 advantage in fast break points. 

Carson-Newman hits the road Wednesday for a pre-Thanksgiving contest at North Georgia.  Tipoff with the Nighthawks is set for 2 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. 

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