Portsmouth, OH – The 18^th-ranked UC men's basketball team rallied once in the second half and came close to completing a second comeback before ultimately falling to Shawnee State 53-51 in conference play Saturday afternoon at Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium.  With the win the Bears improve to 11-11 overall and 2-5 in conference play, while the Patriots move to 16-5 overall and 4-3 against the MSC.

Shawnee State scored the first seven points of the game before Eric Duncan hit a pair of free throws at the 11:26 mark to put the Patriots on the board.  The Bears hit a field goal, before Bernard Samuel's three-pointer with 8:43 remaining cut the deficit to four.  The two teams traded buckets over the next five minutes, including a three from Will Gary, to make the score 18-14 in favor of Shawnee State with 3:47 remaining.  The Bears extended their lead to eight but a Duncan field goal in the final seconds of the half cut the deficit to 24-18 at the break.

The Patriots came out strong in the second half outscoring the Bears 8-2, including six points from Malik Colvin-Seldon to even the score at 26-26, five minutes in.  On UC's next possession Chance Morton converted a field goal to give the Patriots its first lead of the game at the 14:31 mark.  Morton tallied four of Cumberlands next six points to give the Patriots a 34-31 advantage midway through the second half.  The game saw six lead changes over the next five minutes of play as Shawnee State to a 41-40 lead with 5:51 remaining.  The Bears used a 9-2 run to extend their lead to seven points with three minutes left.  UC continued to battle as Morton converted a three-point play, followed by a Samuel field goal brought the Patriots within four at 51-47 with 2:11 remaining.  Tamal Watkins hit a pair of free throws for Shawnee State before UC got back-to-back buckets from Duncan and Colvin-Seldon to cut the deficit to two points with 42 seconds left.  Cumberlands had a chance in the final seconds to tie the game but couldn't convert for the 53-51 final.

Leading the way for the Patriots was Morton who recorded a double-double with ten points and 11 rebounds. Colvin-Seldon added 16 points, while Duncan chipped in ten.

The Patriots return to the court Thursday, February 1, when they travel to Marietta, GA to take on Life.  Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and live video is available here, while live stats are available here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, SnapChat - @UC_Patriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.