Campbellsville, KY - The Patriots men's basketball team was feeling good coming off their season opening win over Milligan and it showed in the first game of the Campbellsville Classic as UC defeated St. Xavier 79-72. It was once again Steven Fitzgerald spearheading the Patriot's offense as he finished with 29 points to set a new career high, helping Cumberlands move to 2-0 on the young year.

Fitzgerald and Jahi Hinson were the catalysts for UC's offense as the tandem combined for 52 points in the game. Fitzgerald did a lot of his damage from deep as he shot 6-9 from distance while Hinson used the mid range to his advantage on his way to a 9-15 shooting performance. The pairing both recorded double-doubles as Fitzgerald finished with a career-high 12 rebounds with Hinson grabbing 10 boards himself, making for a special performance from the upperclassmen.

This makes back-to-back performances for Fitzgerald that he has set a career-high in points as he barely missed out on hitting 30 for the contest. The junior guard begins the new campaign hot as he is coming off a stellar performance in which he shot 7-14 from the field on his way to 27 points in the season opener. Fitzgerald's work on the glass has been just as impressive as his effort from the field, awarding the Patriot a double-double in consecutive performances for the first time in his career. 

The Patriots and Cougars were locked in a battle through the first several minutes of action as neither team could pull off a string of stops. UC did eventually pull ahead thanks to a spark off the bench from J.J. Ramey. The junior guard scored five points off of a three-pointer and a dunk just two minutes after entering the game. Ramey's contribution helped the Patriot lead grow from two to seven as  UC started to put some distance between themselves and the Cougars. That distance became a double-digit margin on the scoreboard as a Fitzgerald layup made it 29-18 with 10:21 remaining the half. 

A strong defensive effort midway through the first half played a big factor as well in the Patriot's commanding first half lead. The Cougars went cold from the floor, unable to score for over four minutes as UC contested every shot. In that stretch, Cumberlands extended their lead from five to 14 with Fitzgerald accounting for 10 Patriot points thanks to a pair of triples and a couple of paint shots.

Cumberlands was able to keep their opponent at arms length for the final eight minutes of the opening half of play in large part due to Jahi Hinson. Hinson scored seven of the team's final 13 points, going 3-3 from the floor while grabbing a pair of rebonds. The veteran leader of UC's team stepped up when needed as his contribution helped stave off a first half comeback from the Cougars.

St. Xavier made adjustments coming out of the break and was able to play even with UC through 10 minutes of the the second half. The Cougars used full court pressure to get UC out of their offensive rhythm and turn the ball over. It helped the Cougars see the first single-digit deficit of the game since the two-minute mark of the first half with the score standing at 57-48 with 10:14 left in half number two.

UC's defense was the difference maker down the stretch as St. Xavier shot only 35.3% from the field in the second half and 33.3% over the final six minutes. Despite the Patriot's offense sputtering, their intensity on the other side of the court did not waver, helping stave off the comeback.

Cumberlands kept coming up big on defense when they needed to, not allowing their opponent to string together any sort of run as the game began to wind down. UC didn't allow any sort of run late for the Cougars as they went six minutes without consecutive made baskets. Opportunistic defense played a big part as well as UC had Isaiah Payton, Kahlil Davis, and Jahi Hinson each record a steal during that stretch, disrupting their counterpart's offensive flow.

All that was left was for Cumberlands to ice the game and they were able to do so, going 7-9 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes. Davis, Payton, Fitzgerald, and Matt Cromer all made it to the line during that time and did their part in helping close out this one and claim the victory.

Cumberlands will look to move to 3-0 on the young season when they take on the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots to finish out the Campbellsville Classic tomorrow (Oct. 30) at 3:30 p.m.

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