Offensive rebounds and turnovers doom C-N in loss to Catawba
January 3, 2026

Offensive rebounds and turnovers doom C-N in loss to Catawba

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Jack Browder recorded a school-best eighth straight 20 point game but Carson-Newman (8-4, 3-3 SAC) could not overcome the battle on the glass in a 14-point home loss to Catawba (8-3, 4-2 SAC).

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Jack Browder Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Jack Browder recorded a school-best eighth straight 20 point game but Carson-Newman (8-4, 3-3 SAC) could not overcome the battle on the glass in a 14-point home loss to Catawba (8-3, 4-2 SAC).

Catawba dominated the battle on the glass, outrebounding C-N 52-39 which included a 24-10 advantage on the offensive glass as well. Those 24 Catawba offensive rebounds turned into a +24 advantage in second chance points. Catawba is the first opponent to grab 50 rebounds or more against the Eagles since Newberry grabbed 52 on January 14th, 2012.

Carson-Newman committed a season-high 19 turnovers and Catawba scored 21 points off those turnovers, 17 of which came in the opening half.

"I am very disappointed in what I saw," Carson-Newman head coach Chuck Benson said. "To turn the ball over like we did and how we did, we sort of did it to ourselves. If you play basketball, you realize that turnovers are bad and will beat you. With the offensive rebounds, today we just got big boy'd. Styles make fights and our style of play and what we believe in philosophically at this institution with this roster versus that institution and roster is just different. We got exposed today and we'll see how it goes when we play them again down the road."

In defeat, Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) was still fantastic for C-N. The senior forward scored 24 points on 50% shooting and snared down 11 rebounds for his 32nd career double double. With the 24-point effort, Browder is the first player in school history to have eight straight 20 plus point performances.

Rylan Houck was the only other Eagle in double-figures, notching his second career 20 point performance.

The lead changed hands six times in the first five minutes of the contest. The Catawba Indians would surge ahead over the next five minutes of the game, scoring 15 of the next 20 points including an 8-0 scoring run to lead 24-15 with 10:28 left in the opening half.

Less than a minute later, C-N was able to draw within four thanks to five straight points from Rylan Houck. But Catawba would go another scoring surge. The Indians scored 10 of the next 12 points and used another 8-0 run to lead by 12 with four to play in the half.

Shamir Caruthers would make C-N's only two field goals in the final seven minutes of the first half. The Indians led by as many as 15 late in the half, but the Eagles got it down to 11 at intermission.

Neither team went on a scoring run of more than seven points in the second half. C-N started the second frame well, getting three-point baskets from Browder and Houck to make it a seven-point game four minutes in.

Browder continued his scoring surge, scoring six of the next eight C-N points to draw the Eagles within four at the 13:54 mark.

Catawba always had answers. Zion McDuffie scored five of Catawba's next seven points and their lead went back up to nine with 8:22 to play.

The Eagles would draw within six on multiple occasions over the next five minutes of play, before a late Catawba run sealed the deal. Matt Bilbrey made C-N's only two buckets in the final three minutes and the Indians scored the game's final seven points to pull away with a 14-point win.

Catawba only shot 37% from the field, but made five more baskets than C-N thanks to the 21 extra shot attempts. Catawba is first team to shoot 37% or worse and win against the Eagles since February 2023 when Mars Hill made just 34 percent of its shots in that game.

Today, C-N was 41 percent from the field and just 25 from beyond the arc.

Bilbrey and Ilic both filled the stat sheet for C-N. Bilbrey had seven points, a career-high seven rebounds and dished out five dimes. Ilic also had a team-best five assists, to go along with six points and six rebounds.

Catawba was led by Jordan Simpson's 26 points and eight rebounds. His 26 points came on 10 of 24 shooting with six made triples.

Carson-Newman hits the road on Wednesday to face Emory & Henry. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff at 7:15 on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floMbb. Fans can also watch the ESN crew broadcast the game with a view on press row on YouTube.

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