Overtime heartbreak, LR spoils a classic on C-N’s senior day
February 28, 2026

Overtime heartbreak, LR spoils a classic on C-N’s senior day

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a game that featured 11 ties and 16 lead changes, Lenoir-Rhyne (23-7, 17-5 SAC) closed the overtime session on a 6-0 run to take an 87-81 classic from Carson-Newman (18-10, 13-9 SAC) Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse.

VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview

VIDEO: Jack Browder Interview

VIDEO: Braden Ilic Interview

VIDEO: Keliese Frye Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a game that featured 11 ties and 16 lead changes, Lenoir-Rhyne (23-7, 17-5 SAC) closed the overtime session on a 6-0 run to take an 87-81 classic from Carson-Newman (18-10, 13-9 SAC) Saturday afternoon in Holt Fieldhouse.

The Bears' win spoiled C-N's senior day and snapped the Eagles' five-game winning streak.  The loss means C-N gets the fifth seed in next week's SAC tournament. Carson-Newman will play Lincoln Memorial Thursday at 5 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C. LR gets the two seed and a quarterfinal date Wednesday with Emory & Henry at 7:30 p.m. 

LR broke open a 32-32 game at the half with an 8-0 run.  But C-N used an 8-3 run to get back into things with 10 minutes to go in the second half.  For the remainder of the game until the Bears' 6-0 run to close, neither team led by more than three. 

"That was an NCAA-tournament caliber game," head coach Chuck Benson said. "I told our team that this is the kind of game our team needs going into postseason. We want our point to be as sharp as possible so we play our best basketball in South Carolina for the conference tournament.  We got a great punch thrown at us today. I wanna give credit to Lenoir-Rhyne for coming in here and winning. I don't want to talk about that as much as I want to talk about my team.  I'm proud of their performance here today. I think we played a game worthy of winning for 44 minutes and 40 seconds.  At the very end, we had some empty possessions. I'm proud of this team for how it has evolved over the last six weeks.  I wish we could have had a win for our seniors, but that isn't what the plan was.  We have to deal with that reality and prepare for the next one." 

Carson-Newman led by two and had the ball with 37 seconds left in regulation following a Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) block on a Julian Dozier drive.  C-N came away with the rebound, but facing a scramble with 13 on the shot, overcooked a pass into its own bench for its second turnover of the second half. 

LR took advantage, taking the ball inside for a game-tying layup from Conrad Luczynski with four seconds left.  Browder got off a potential game-winning shot with 0.5 ticks left on a leaning jumper from the right baseline, but his look caromed in and out to send the game to OT.  LR took the lead for good with 1:56 left in the bonus session on a reverse three-point play. Luczynski connected on the first of two free throws before snagging an offensive board off the missed second.  A minute later, Junior Hodnett took advantage of the extended second-chance opportunity to put the Bears ahead 81-80.  A Hodnett fadeaway and a quartet of Dozier free throws set the final margin.  Carson-Newman had two cracks to tie with under a minute to go, but an errant pass on the second offensive board of the possession tumbled out of bounds. The turnover and subsequent Dozier free throws secured the win for the Bears.  LR sweeps the season series with C-N for the first time since the 2018-19 season. 

The loss spoiled an otherworldly performance from Browder.  He topped 30 for a second straight game for the second time in his career.  Browder finished with 39 points.  He was 8-of-26 from the field, 2-of-8 from three and a SAC and Carson-Newman record 21-of-21 at the line. 

"Jack takes so much heat and attention from other teams, its outrageous that he is able to have the nights he has had of late," Benson said. "I think we have talked more about Jack Browder this season than anyone who has played here.  He is one of one.  He is an incredible representative for this institution.  He is such a tremendous example of sacrifice and loyalty. He will leave here and do great things away from Carson-Newman. I hope our fans can recognize another example of an outstanding student-athlete and Jack's completeness as a student athlete.  I hope his greatness, and I mean that in all caps, is apparent as a competitor." 

The 21-of-21 effort at the line is the third-best mark in NCAA DII history for consecutive free throws made in a game without missing.  Browder had broken Carson-Newman's 59-year-old record Wednesday against Mars Hill before surmounting it against the Bears.  He has made 38 consecutive free throws.  The senior also snagged 11 rebounds for his 39th career double-double and swiped a career-high five steals.  It was Browder's 10th career 30-point night and his third in the last month. 

Browder moved into fourth on both the Carson-Newman and SAC all-time scoring lists.  He passed Steve Adams on the Eagles' listing and LMU's Luquon Choice on the league's sheet.  He has 2,068 points in his career.  Browder's 695 points this season are the most by a C-N player in a single season in the NCAA era.  They are the seventh most by a player in league history.  Browder brought his season total for free throws made to 230 - the second-most in SAC history.  

Matt Bilbrey (Crossville, Tenn.) joined him in double figures with 18 points.  Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) added in 10. 

Lenoir-Rhyne outshot C-N 49.2 percent to 32.4 percent.  Yet, C-N was able to make up the difference by snagging 20 offensive boards, forcing three more LR turnovers and getting to the line a ton.  C-N converted on 26-of-29 free throws compared to 17-of-27 for LR. 

"Our guys were motivated," Benson said. "We had some game-specific goals and targets that we met, and exceeded others. We generated extra possessions and that gave us more shot opportunities.  We weren't efficient, but LR is a long athletic team that makes it tough.  In spite of that, Jack had a stellar performance, and I loved Bilbrey's aggression. We'll need that in the tournament next week.  I saw a lot of good things today, and if we can continue to do those things we should have success in South Carolina." 

LR became the first team to have three, 20-point scorers against C-N since Brevard on Jan. 11, 2017.  Dozier paced the Bears with a career-high matching 24.

Luczynski and Akili Evans followed with 22 and 21, respectively.  They both also had double-doubles with 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively. 

The 27 combined ties and lead changes are tied for the fifth-most in a game in Chuck Benson's 16-year tenure as head coach. 

C-N is 1-1 in overtime games this season. 

C-N opens the SAC tournament Thursday as the five seed at 5 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 4:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.  A live look of the ESN crew at work on press row can be found on YouTube. 

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