Alexandria, LA – The second-seed UC men's basketball team erased an eight-point second half deficit however it wasn't enough as the Patriots fell to third-seed Xavier 67-59 in the opening game of the Alexandria B Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round. With the win the Gold Rush improve to 14-4 on the season, while the Patriots finish the year 17-10.
Tevin Olison led the way for UC with 20 points and four rebounds.
Jahi Hinson finished with nine points and nine rebounds in the game. With that performance, the Detroit, MI native became the 25
th member of the Cumberlands 1,000 point club joining teammate Olison, who did it early this season. It marks the first time under Coach Don Butcher that two teammates achieved reached this milestone in the same season.
Lamar Harris added seven points and eight rebounds, while
Josh Williams and
Steven Fitzgerald finished with eight points each.
Hinson and Olison combined to score seven of the first eight points in the game to give UC a 7-1 four minutes into the first half. Xavier went on a 5-3 run, before Williams and Hinson netted buckets to extend the lead to 14-6 with 11:36 remaining. The Gold Rush went on a 10-2 run, over a three-minute span, to even the score at 16-16.
Isaiah Thompson added a bucket to put UC in front before the two teams continued to trade baskets over the next several minutes to give Xavier a 27-25 lead with 1:39 remaining. UC looked to get back in front as
Kahlil Davis sank a free throw that was coupled with an Olison three-pointer, which gave the Patriots a 29-27 lead at the break.
Xavier opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 39-31 advantage with 15:20 remaining. Thompson tallied the Patriots next four points, while Olison added a put back to cut the deficit to 41-37 two minutes later. The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes until a Hinson lay-up made it 47-43 midway through the second half. Two minutes later, Fitzgerald sank a pair from the charity stripe as Williams hit from behind-the-arc to give Cumberlands a 50-49 lead with 6:53 remaining. The Gold Rush responded with an 11-5 run to retake the lead 60-55 with 1:57 left. On the next Patriots possession, Hinson hit a pull-up jumper, which was his 1,000
th career point. That was the closest UC came as Xavier hit free throws down the stretch for the 67-59 final.
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