Box Score Campbellsville, KY – The UC men's basketball team couldn't fend off a late rally as Juwan Gooding's layup with 1 second remaining gave Central Penn a 70-68 win Saturday afternoon at Powell Athletic Gym.  With the win the Knights improve to 6-3, while the Patriots drop to 7-2.

It was a back-and-forth game right from the start as Will Gary hit from behind the arc, before the Knights took a 5-3 lead three minutes into the first half.  Bernard Samuel and Taylor Gover each drained three-pointers, while Travon Lebranche made four straight puts to put the Patriots ahead 13-7 with 13:23 left.  Cumberlands used a 12-8 run, which included four points from Malik Colvin-Selden, and two three pointers from Samuel, over for the next five minutes to extend their lead 25-15. The teams traded buckets, before Samuel hit twice from behind the arc, two of his five first half three pointers, to give UC a 36-22 advantage with 4:13 remaining.  Colvin-Selden converted a dunk with 2:55 remaining to give Cumberlands their largest lead of the first half at 16 points.  Central Penn went on a 10-0 run to close out the first half and cut UC's lead to 38-32.

The Knights cut the lead to two points to start the second half, before Eric Duncan made his lone three pointer to put UC ahead 41-36 with 18:17 left.  Cumberlands used a 12-4 run, including three's from Will Gary and Anthony Eaves to take a 54-40 lead with 14:21 remaining. The Knights cut the led to eight points, before Eaves hit from long range followed by two Colvin-Selden layups put UC ahead 61-46 midway through the second half. Central Penn started to rally but a Gover three pointer gave the Patriots a 64-51 advantage with 8:06 remaining.  The Knights used a 13-2 run, over the course of six minutes to cut the lead to 66-64 with 1:56 left.  Kaashif English converted a free throw, before Central Penn scored four straight points to take their first lead since the 16:55 mark in the first half.  Eaves made one of his two free throws with 11 seconds left to even the score and on the ensuing possession Gooding made a layup with 1 second left to for the 70-68 win.

Leading the way for the Patriots was Samuel, who recorded a game-high 18 points and five rebounds. Colvin-Seldon added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Eaves chipped in 12 points and dished out four assists. Lebranche recorded a career-high five assists in the contest.

The Patriots will return to the court Saturday, December 2, when they travel to Winston-Salem, NC to face Piedmont International University. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.  

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