Williamsburg, KY - For the first time this season, the University of Cumberlands men's basketball team is on a four-game winning streak after defeating Cumberland University 57-54 in overtime Thursday night on Randy Vernon Court. With the win the Patriots improve to 17-10 overall and 11-8 in conference play, while the Phoenix move to 16-7 overall and 11-7 against the Mid-South.
For the second straight game, Steven Fitzgerald registered a double-double with a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Fitzgerald was joined by Jahi Hinson and Austin Hall in double figures as Hinson had 14 points, while Hall put up a season-high ten points to go along with seven boards and a trio of blocks. Lamar Harris tied Fitzgerald as the game's leading rebounder as he grabbed ten boards to going along with six points and a pair of blocks.
The game opened as a defensive battle right from the opening tip as both teams recorded a season-low for points in a single half with the score at halftime reading 18-16 in favor of the Patriots. The began with the two teams going a combined 0-4 from the field before Hinson lobbed it to Hall for dunk coupled with a Hinson layup gave UC an early 4-0 lead. The Phoenix utilized a 14-2 run, that spanned eight minutes and included three's from Kelvin Jackson and Tyler Byrd, to give Cumberland a 14-6 lead midway through the first half. Harris Jr. led the Patriots response as he grabbed an offensive board and put back at the 8:21 mark to pull UC within six at 14-8. The Patriots added six unanswered points off consecutive layups, while a a Fitzgerald jumper evened the score at 14-14 with 4:29 remaining. UC closed out the half with back-to-back dunks from JJ Ramey and Fitzgerald to take an 18-16 edge into the break.
After two teams traded buckets to open the second half, Cumberland University went on a 9-0 run to help them grab a 27-20 lead with 14:52 to go in the game. UC stopped the bleeding with a layup from Lamar Harris Jr. at the 14:15 mark and then began to climb their way back in. The two teams traded baskets over the next four minutes until the Patriots got back-to-back layups from Harris Jr. and Payton to cut the deficit to 33-28 with 10:14 remaining. A couple minutes later, Cumberlands would inch closes as Hinson converted a layup and Payton drained a pair from the charity stripe to make it a one-possession game 35-32 with 6:02 left. From the 5:13 mark until things became tied, UC went on a 7-3 spurt to pull even at 41-41 with 2:25 to go in regulation. The run was capped off by Hinson with a hoop and the harm and connection on the free throw to tie things up. Hall gave Cumberlands their first lead in over 18 minutes with a post touch to make it 43-41. He then fouled Isaac Stephens on the other end with him making both free throws. Hinson once again gave UC the lead off a dunk, but the Phoenix responded with 30 second to go with a layup to knot things up at 45-45 and send things into overtime.
Free throws proved to be the big story in the extra frame with the Patriots converted 8-9 from the charity stripe in the extra period. Fitzgerald accounting for five of made free throws and Hinson the other three; each of them helped Cumberlands grow closer to the win. UC netted the first six points of overtime to take a 51-45 edge with 1:51 remaining. The Phoenix continued to battled as Tavon King leading the charge scoring five of the next seven points to cut the lead to 53-50 with 1:17 left. The Patriots strong shooting from the charity stripe pushed the lead back to two possessions and the 57-54 final.
The Patriots will look to cap off the home portion of their schedule in their next contest as they are set to host Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, February 12th, with tip-off set for 4:00 p.m.
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