Pikeville, KY – Trailing by two points with 4:00 minutes left, the (RV) UC men's basketball team went on a 13-2 run to close out the game and defeat Pikeville 79-70 Monday night.  With the win, the Patriots improve to 16-8 overall and 10-8 in the MSC, while the Bears move to 10-11 overall and 8-10 in conference play.

Steven Fitzgerald led the way netting a game-high 24 points, which ties his career-high set earlier this season.  Tevin Olison added 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Jahi Hinson chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.  Ismiell Etienne came off the bench to grab a team-high nine boards to go along with five points.

It was an evenly contested game right from the opening tip as Fitzgerald drained a three to get UC on the board two minutes in.  A couple minutes later UPike  took a four point lead, before Olison hit a jumper and Hinson stole the ball and jammed it home to even the score at 7-7.   Olison and Kahlil Davis connected on consecutive long balls to put UC in front 15-9 with 13:07 remaining.  The two teams traded buckets over the next several minutes until Cumberlands got back-to-back baskets from Lamar Harris giving them a 21-20 lead at the 8:17 mark.  There were four lead changes over the next four minutes until Etienne and Josh Williams connected with shots to give the Patriots a 28-24 edge with 3:15 left.  The Bears retook the lead at 29-28, however, Fitzgerald hit from behind-the-arc couple with Collin Kelley sinking a pair of free throws give UC a 33-29 lead at the break.

Fitzgerald led Cumberlands strong play to open the second half as he netted the Patriots first six points extending their lead to 39-33.   Three minutes later, Hinson completed a three-point play to extend UC's advantage to 44-37, five minutes into the second half.  UPike went on an 8-2 run to cut the led to one, before converted on a pair of shots to extend the lead to 50-47 with 11:30 remaining;  Another 10-2 run by the Bears put them in front by five, however, Cumberlands clutch free throw shooting cut the deficit to 57-56 with 8:20 left.  The teams continued to trade baskets until the 5:37 mark when Hinson sank a jumper to tie the game at 64-64.  The game was tied two more times before Fitzgerald and Olison combined for UC final 13 points for the 79-70 win. 

The Patriots went 18-25 from the charity stripe in the game with Fitzgerald and Olison combining to go 13-14.  UC also outrebounded Pikeville 43-25 in the win.

Cumberlands will return to the court Thursday, February 11, when they host Lindsey Wilson.  Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. with live stats available here and live video available here.

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