JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Newberry Wolves men's basketball team earned a crucial road win Saturday afternoon as they defeated Carson-Newman 87-76. With the win, the Wolves finish the regular season at 14-14 (10-12 SAC) and are the sixth seed in the Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Tournament this coming week.

The Wolves recovered from a three point halftime deficit quickly as Angelo Sales, Jr. and TJ Brown scored consecutive baskets to take the lead. Luke Gibson then hit a three pointer to extend that lead to four. After Bryant Thomas scored for Carson-Newman, Sales, Jr. scored again. He then hit two free throws to extend the lead to five points with just over 12 minutes to play.

A Marcus Ford layup gave Newberry a seven point lead, but Kaleb Wallace hit a three pointer to cut it to four. Callan Low then made a layup and Jalen Johnson hit a three pointer to give the Wolves their biggest lead of the game at nine points. Sales, Jr. then gave Newberry a double digit lead with a layup, but an EJ Bush layup got the Eagles within nine.

Ford hit a three pointer to extend the lead to 12 before the teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes. Two free throws by Bush cut the deficit to six, but Marshall Lange scored. Bush hit two more free throws, but Sales, Jr. hit a layup to give the Wolves an eight point lead with just less than three minutes to play. Ford then scored four points to offset Carson Newman's scoring. Sales, Jr., Sikander Nielsen, QuanDaveon McCollum, Ford, and Gibson hit free throws down the stretch to clinch the double digit victory.

The first half saw the Eagles get off to a fast start as they made three consecutive three pointers to take a 9-0 lead. Gibson made a jumper to give Newberry their first points, but Carson-Newman continued to pour it on early. The Eagles led 16-5 after a Thomas layup and extended the lead to 21-7 on a Dimitrii Bykov basket less than two minutes later. The Wolves then started to chip away at the lead, but Carson-Newman responded each time.

A McCollum layup cut the deficit to 29-20 and he responded to a Richard Henderson layup with a jumper to keep the lead at nine. After the teams traded baskets, Lange hit a three pointer to get within 35-30 with less than six minutes to play in the half. The Eagles extended the lead back out to 11 on a Trey Smith three pointer, but Newberry closed the half strong. 

A Sikander Nielsen free throw and a McCollum layup cut the lead to eight. After a Bush free throw, Ford hit a three pointer to get within 48-42. Smith then fouled Nielsen while shooting a three pointer to end the half, and he made all three free throws, getting Newberry within three at 48-45.

Ford led the Wolves offensively with 19 points and made 3-5 three pointers. McCollum had a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Sales, Jr. had 13. Gibson also joined them in double figures with 11 and Nielsen had his best performance of the season with eight points, two rebounds, and four assists.

Newberry will now face Catawba in the first round of the Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference tournament on the road this coming Wednesday at 7 p.m.