Jan. 9, 2008

Final Stats

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - A little shooting goes a long way.

The Carson-Newman Eagles used eight three-pointers in the first half to run by Alabama-Huntsville 88-72 Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.

Senior Darren Williams (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and junior Jesse McMurray (gate City, Va.) each made five from long range to spark the Eagles' offense. Each made three-straight treys in the first half to help the Eagles to a 44-34 halftime lead.

C-N (9-2, 2-0 SAC) led 18-10 at the midway point of the first half, but UAH (6-8) fought back with a 12-2 run to take the lead on a three-point play by Brandon Tucker. The Eagles would answer with a Williams-led run.

The senior knocked down three-straight jumpers from long range, with a Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) floater wedge in, to spark a 19-4 Eagle run. C-N held on to most of its 39-26 advantage to lead by ten at the half, 44-34. The Eagles would finish the game 11-of-24 from three-point range, cooling off after a hot start (8-of-13).

The teams would trade buckets for much of the second half, until C-N was able to establish control at the front of the rim.

Junior Bobby Guyton (Jessup, Ga.) and senior Andy Tipton (Maryville, Tenn.) combined for 18 points in the second half to lead the surge. The Eagles used a trio of Guyton buckets during a 15-7, to push their lead from 50-40 out to 18 points, at 65-47. Tipton added back-to-back buckets to open the second half, and added the night's top highlight, an open-court steal and tomahawk dunk later in the half.

McMurray led the Eagles with 17. Williams added 15. Guyton finished with 11 and Tipton 10.

Cody Jones led UAH with 16 points on an impressive 8-of-9 from the floor.

Carson-Newman returns to South Atlantic Conference play on Saturday when it travels to Mars Hill. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.