Carson-Newman C-N 1-1,0-0 SAC

Fort Lewis FLC 0-2,0-0 RMAC

Carson-Newman C-N

1-1,0-0 SAC

Final

Nov. 03, 2024

Fort Lewis FLC

0-2,0-0 RMAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Carson-Newman C-N	45	49	94
Fort Lewis FLC	31	44	75

Summary
Box Score

Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications

Biko Johnson (5) drives to the bucket for a lay-up following a turnover by the Eagles at the George W. Jenkins Field House (Nov. 3, 2024)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/3/2024 11:50:00 AM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

(RV) Carson-Newman blows by No. 22 Fort Lewis in Skyhawks final game at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic

Biko John and Chuol Deng rack up 21 points

LAKELAND, Fla. – Carson-Newman (1-1), backed by three 20-point performances, shot 60.7 percent (34-56) from the field en route to a commanding 94-75 victory over the no. 22-ranked Fort Lewis (0-2) men's basketball team on Sunday morning to close out the Skyhawks debut in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic down at Florida Southern College.

Despite struggling to shoot 30.6 percent (11-36) from the field in the first half, Fort Lewis bounced back to fire off at 53.1 percent (17-32) across the final 20 minutes. The Skyhawks continued to struggle from the three-point line, however, knocking down just seven treys in 28 attempts (25.0 percent).

The Eagles rolled on offense, living up to the hype as the nation's best three-point shooting team with a 52.0 percent (13-25) mark from downtown. Jack Browder had a game-high 26 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field with four treys and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. John Zhao supplied another 23 points with a game-high five threes while Trey Hubbard added another 22 points, and Nick Brenegan the final 15 to round out the Eagles to finish in double-figures.

Chuol Deng and Biko Johnson led the Skyhawks with a pair of 21-point performances with Deng pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Johnson shot 50.0 percent from the floor (8-16) and led FLC with three three-pointers.

Fort Lewis captured its first lead of the game with 16:34 on the clock in the opening half, 12-11, on a layup from Cassius Carmichael. Carson-Newman caught fire, running out to a lead as high as 18 points before entering halftime with a 45-31 advantage. In the second half, however, the Eagles once again took off to an insurmountable 23-point advantage.

The Skyhawks won the turnover battle 14-10 but only outscored the Eagles 13-11 in points off said turnovers. FLC scored just 13 points off the bench, including the first two of Jude Brideba and Stewart Erhart's careers. Carson-Newman also edged Fort Lewis 36-33 in rebounds and points in the paint, 38-36.

Quotables
Opening thoughts on game two…
"I think this weekend is great for us from the standpoint of seeing some really good teams that have experience, and I think our inexperience with a group of new guys playing together showed. [Our opponent] was a little more dialed into what roles they were really good at, and we're still trying to figure out ours. I felt that our effort was good in both games, but some of our scouting and execution could be a lot better." – head coach Jordan Mast

On what he's hoping to carry on into the season…
"I'm just hoping to carry on our coach's game plan and vision for our team and just sticking to our defensive principals; I think we'll be straight." – senior guard Biko Johnson

Notables
-Carson-Newman defeated Fort Lewis in the first-ever matchup between the two teams.
-The Skyhawks are now 1-1 against active members of the South Atlantic Conference.
-Fort Lewis starts the season 0-2 for the first time since 2001-02 when the Skyhawks won the RMAC West Division Regular Season and RMAC Shootout.
-Chuol Deng and Biko Johnson produced a season-high 21 points each to mark the first 20-point performances by Skyhawks this year. In addition, Deng has recorded back-to-back double-doubles with today's marking the 15^th of his career.
-Tru Allen reached double figures for the first time as a Skyhawk with his season-high 11 points.
-Three Skyhawks played 31+ minutes including Biko Johnson (31), Chuol Deng (32), and Tru Allen (36), while all 13 players touched the floor.

Conference Crossover
Next week, Fort Lewis will host a pair of Lone Star Conference opponents including Angelo State (0-0) and Eastern New Mexico (0-0) alongside fellow Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference member New Mexico Highlands (0-0) for this year's conference crossover inside Whalen Gymnasium. The Skyhawks will tip-off against the Greyhounds on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. game with the Rams on Saturday, Nov. 9.

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