Kansas City, MO – The sixth-seed University of the Cumberlands men's basketball team couldn't overcome a 12-point halftime deficit as they fell to third-seed Wiley 68-56 in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament Thursday afternoon. With the win the Wildcats improve to 24-6, while the Patriots finish the season 21-11. 

Wiley jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead, however back-to-back baskets from Malik Colvin-Seldon evened the score 5-5 with 17:20 remaining in the first half.  The Wildcats used a 13-2 run, spanning 3:30, to take a 17-7 lead.  The Patriots battled back as Colvin-Seldon sparked a 7-0 run for the Patriots, including a three pointer by Chance Edwards to cut the deficit to three with 11:49 remaining.  After trading baskets Nnamdi Van Dulm sank a pair of free throws to bring UC within two with 9:05 remaining. That was the closest Cumberlands came as Wiley closed out the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 34-22 lead into the break.

Cumberlands came out strong in the second half outscoring Wiley 8-2, including four points from Jahi Hinson to cut the deficit to 36-30 with 16:48 remaining.  The two teams traded baskets twice before Travon Labranche netted three straight points to cut the deficit to four at 40-36 with 15:11 remaining.  UC was able to cut the deficit to four points two more times, with the last time coming off a Van Dulm three-pointer at the 9:45 mark.  The Wildcats scored five unanswered points before Van Dulm and Labranche combined for UC's next four points cutting the deficit to 54-48. From that point, the Wildcats ended the game on a 14-8 run for the 68-56 final.

Colvin-Seldon led the way for the Patriots with 16 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Van Dulm added 15 points and six rebounds, while Hinson tallied 11 second-half points and five rebounds in the game. 

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