Crestview Hills, KY – For the second straight meeting, Cumberlands men's basketball knocked off a ranked Thomas More on the road this time with a 77-73 win over the 13th-ranked Saints Thursday night at the Connor Convocation Center. With the win the Patriots improve to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play, while the Saints move to 9-2 overall and 4-1 against the MSC.
Leading the way for the Patriots was Steven Fitzgerald, who finished with a game-high 21 points, along with a team-high five rebounds and a trio of assists. Fitzgerald was efficient from the floor, going 8-11 in the game, including 5-6 from beyond the arc. Jahi Hinson had it going in the second half as he scored 17 of his 19 points during the final 20 minutes with many of them being crucial buckets. He was aggressive in getting to mid-range as most of his makes came from there while also being automatic from the charity stripe, going 5-5 for the game. Isaiah Payton chipped in 13 points for his fifth double-digit output of the season and three rebounds in the win.
Thomas More opened the game on a 5-0 run, however buckets from Lamar Harris and Isaiah Payton cut the deficit to 8-5 three minutes into the half. The Saints went on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 17-7 before UC responded with eight unanswered points, capped off by a Fitzgerald three cutting the deficit to 17-15 midway through the first half. Just over a minute later, Collin Kelley sank a jumper to even the score at 20-20. The game was tied two more times, before Payton drained one of his two shots from deep at the 4:39 mark giving Cumberlands its first lead of the game 28-27. UC continued to utilize the long ball as Matt Cromer and Fitzgerald each hit from deep over the next couple minutes of play. The two teams traded possession before Kelley hit a pull-up jumper in the closing seconds as the Patriots found themselves ahead 39-37 at the break.
The Patriots were able to come out of the locker rooms the more aggressive team as they went on a 7-0 run to begin the second half through the first minute and a half of resumed action. Payton got the scoring started with a three before Hinson hit a pair of free throws and Lamar Harris finished a layup to extend Cumberlands lead to 46-37. UC continue to apply the pressure on both ends of the court as the stretch their lead out to 12 points at 53-41 with 16:08 remaining.
The 7-2 run featured a Harris layup followed by Fitzgerald's fourth made three-ball of the game and a Kelley jumper. The Patriots lead never dipped below six over the next six minutes of play as the two teams continued to trade baskets over that stretch. Hinson was integral for Cumberlands down the stretch of the second half as he had seven of the team's next 11 points to give UC a 66-59 advantage with 9:00 remaining. Thomas More went on a 9-2 run, that spanned four minutes, to take a 69-68 lead, however, the Patriots retook the lead on a Hinson jumper a minute later. Hinson added a pair from the charity stripe as Austin Hall added a three with 1:08 remaining to put the Patriots in front 75-71. Fitzgerald closed out the game with a layup and a steal for the 77-73 final.
UC will look for their 10th win of the campaign when they wrap up their 2021 portion of the season schedule on Saturday against Shawnee State inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
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