Williamsburg, KY  – The UC men's basketball team opened Mid-South Conference play in impressive fashion defeating 23^rd-ranked Thomas More 72-61 Tuesday night at Randy Vernon Court inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center.  It's the second-time in the past three years that the Patriots opened conference play with a win over a ranked opponent as the Patriots extend their win streak to seven straight and improve to 8-2 overall, while the Saints move to 8-1.

Tevin Olison led the way for the Patriots with 26 points and five rebounds, while Jahi Hinson added 15 points.  Caleb Taylor notched his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, as Jordan Griggs tallied nine points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Cumberlands led wire-to-wire in the game as the Patriots opened the contest netting 12 straight points, including a pair of three's from Griggs in the first four minutes.  Thomas More responded with a 10-2 run before Griggs found Ethan Snapp beyond-the-arc to make it 17-10 with 14:19 remaining. UC went on an 11-4 run, capped off by a Hunter Bode dunk off an assist from Hunter Bode to make it 28-14.  Bode followed that up with another one-handed dunk  two minutes later.  UC outscored Thomas More 9-4  over the final six minutes of the half to take a 39-20 lead into the break.

The two teams came out trading baskets over the first four minutes of the second half as Cumberlands maintained a 45-30 lead.  The Saints went on a 10-5 run, over a five-minute span, to cut the lead to 50-40 midway through the half.  Thomas More cut the lead to seven points with 6:09 left, however, Griggs, Snapp, and Olison netted a pair of points to give UC a 60-51 lead with 4:48 remaining.  Down the stretch Olison and Taylor combined for the final 12 Patriot points for the 72-61 final.

Cumberlands shot 49.1% from the field, while scoring 38 points in the paint.  The Patriots also had a season-best three turnovers in the win. 

The Patriots will return to action Thursday, December 5, as they travel to Georgetown, KY to face the top-ranked Tigers. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. with live stats available here and live video available here.

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