Williamsburg, KY – The 21st-ranked UC men's basketball team tallied runs of 10-2 and 19-4 to start both halves, while Jahi Hinson and Caleb Taylor notched career-highs as the Patriots defeated Xavier 77-62 Sunday afternoon at the O. Wayne Rollins Center. With the win the Patriots improve to 13-2 overall, while the Gold Rush drop to 9-6.
Jeff Dixon scored the first bucket of the game for Xavier, however UC as Hinson and Malik Colvin-Seldon combined for ten straight points to give Cumberlands a 10-2 edge with 15:12 remaining. The two teams traded buckets over the next five minutes giving the Patriots a 17-12 lead midway through the first half. From that point Cumberlands went on a 11-2 run, which was capped off with Colvin-Seldon draining his first career three-pointer as a Patriot to extend the lead to 28-14 with 5:38 remaining. Xavier recorded 13 straight points to cut the lead to one point before Travon Labranche converted a putback to give UC a 30-27 lead at the break.
The Patriots extended their lead to start the second half as Caleb Taylor scored UC's first four points of the half. Those buckets sparked a 19-4 run, over the first 5:24 of the second half to give Cumberlands a 49-31 advantage. Xavier responded with seven straight points as part of a 15-3 run, which cut UC's lead to 52-46 with 7:32 remaining. Labranche and Anthony Eaves tallied the Patriots next eight points to extend the lead to 62-51 with 4:44 remaining. Cumberlands converted 13 of 18 from the charity stripe in the final three minutes for the 77-62 final.
Hinson led the way for the Patriots with a career-high 25 points, including 6-8 from the field and 12-16 from the line. Taylor also recorded a career-day with 15 rebounds and six blocks to go along with five points. Colvin-Seldon and Eaves finished with 15 and 11 points, respectfully, as they both dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds each.
UC returns to action Saturday, January 5, as they travel to Marietta, GA to face Life in their Mid-South Conference opener.
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