Montgomery, WV - Despite Steven Fitzgerald's game-high 20 points, the Patriots couldn't overcome a strong shooting performance by West Virginia Tech as Cumberlands men's basketball fell to the Golden Bears in non-conference action 79-61 Saturday afternoon.
Fitzgerald had the standout performance of the contest coming out of the gates hot, shooting 5-7 in the first half of play on his way to 11 points in the first 20 minutes. It marks the sixth time this season that the Somerset, KY native netted at least 20 points in a game. Jahi Hinson finished in double figures with 14 on 6-15 shooting with four of his made shots coming in the second half to lead the Patriots with ten in the frame while grabbing a game-high seven boards.
The first several minutes of action favored the Patriots as they found themselves with a 13-5 advantage with 14:36 remaining in the opening half. UC came out of the gates hot as they shot 6-10 over the first five and half minutes with most of their damage being done close to the basket as four of their makes came in the paint. Fitzgerald accounted for two of those paint baskets as he had six of the team's first nine points on 3-3 shooting and one assist. The Golden Bears responded with a 12-2 run after falling behind by eight to take a 15-13 lead with 10:53 remaining.
The Patriots pulled even with the Golden Bears 20 seconds later as Hall found Fitzgerald in the paint for a bucket. West Virginia Tech retook the lead, however, the Patriots cut the deficit to two on a Hinson layup with 7:25 left in the first half. After two straight made WVU Tech layups made it 24-18, Lamar Harris caught the lob off of the feed from Isaiah Payton. After Harris' jam, Hinson made a floater in the middle of the lane to cut the deficit to two with just over five minutes to go in the opening half of play. The Golden Bears mounted a run during the final five minutes of play in which they outscored Cumberlands 14-8 to take a 38-30 lead into halftime.
After the Golden Bears were able to fire the opening bucket of the second half, UC put together a solid three-minute stretch to pull within three points on a made triple from Fitzgerald. Hinson was key during that stretch as he netted UC's first six point of the half. His string of consecutive made shots was broken with 16:38 to go after Fitzgerald drained the three ball off the pass from Payton to make it 42-39. The Golden Bears went on a 10-3 run to grab their first double-digit lead of the game on a fast break layup off of a turnover to make it 52-42 with 11:19 to go in the game.
Fitzgerald and Hinson kept the Patriots within striking distance as they scored UC's next six points cutting the deficit to 60-49 with 7:52 remaining. West Virginia Tech steadily grew their lead further out amassing a 20-point advantage, however, Cumberlands continued to battle as JJ Ramey notched a tip-in as UC a pair of free throws from Fitzgerald to cut the deficit to 73-55.
The Patriots tallied six of the final ten points of the game, including a three from Kahlil Davis for the 79-61 final.
The Patriots will look to regroup in when they end their current four-game road trip with a visit to Thomas More on Thursday, December 16.
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