Campbellsville, KY – The 15^th-ranked UC men's basketball team had six players score at least seven points as the Patriots defeated Simmons 73-46 Saturday afternoon at the Lou Cunningham Classic.  With the win, Cumberlands improves to 5-0 on the season, while the Falcons drop to 0-2.

Cumberlands came out strong as Jahi Hinson and Austin Hall both converted field goals in the paint to give UC a 4-2 lead.  Hall added five more points over the next two minutes to extend the Patriots lead to 12-4, four minutes into the first half.  Tevin Olison drained a three-pointer before Simmons went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 15-11 midway through the first half.  Cumberlands responded with consecutive field goals by Deng Mayot and Steven Fitzgerald coupled with an Isaiah Payton three pushed Cumberlands lead to 22-11.  UC closed out the first half on an 18-7 run, which included six points from Fitzgerald to take a 40-20 lead into the break.

Damon Moore hit a free throw to score the first point of the second half for the Falcons.  From that point, the Patriots scored 19 unanswered points to take a 59-21 lead with 13:05 remaining. On that run Olison and Hinson combined for UC's first 14 points, while Isaiah Payton capped off the run with a three pointer.   The Falcons outscored UC 13-7 over the next several minutes to cut into the lead, before Payton connected from long range to put Cumberlands in front 69-34 with 8:44 left.  Brady Uhl and Fitzgerald combined for UC's final four points as the Patriots held on for a 73-46 final.

Payton led the way with 15 points, going 5-7 from beyond-the-arc.  Olison added 13 points and three rebounds, while Fitzgerald finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.  Hinson dished out a team-high six assists to go along with eight points and five rebounds.

With the win, UC improves to 5-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.  Cumberlands out rebounded Simmons 45-31, while the 17 assists is tied for a team-high this season.

The Patriots will return to the court Saturday, November 14, when they host Simmons College in a rematch of today's game.  Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. with live stats available here and live video 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 and @UCPatsGameDay, Instagram - @UCPatriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.