Williamsburg, KY – Cumberlands found themselves in a tight battle in their opening round matchup of the MSC Tournament, hosting the 12th seeded Lindsey Wilson. Last second heroics from Steven Fitzgerald sealed the win for UC in the 62-60 victory, giving the Patriots their eighth 20-win season over the past nine years.
Fitzgerald led the Patriots with 21 points, five assists and four rebounds in the game. Jahi Hinson added 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Austin Hall hit three triples en route to an 11-point performance. J.J. Ramey chipped in a team-high seven boards in the win.
Steven Fitzgerald forced a turnover on the opening possession and then found Austin Hall for a three to put UC ahead a minute into the game. The Patriots added seven unanswered points from Hinson and Fitzgerald to quickly extend their lead to 10-2 with 15:27 remaining. Lindsey Wilson scored six unanswered points to cut it to an one-possession game before Hinson tossed a lob pass to Collin Kelley for the dunk, before sinking a jumper to make 14-8 midway through the first half. Two minutes later, Fitzgerald drained his second triple of the half, before Isaiah Payton converted a three-point play and Hinson hit from long range to extend the lead to 25-14 with 6:59 remaining. Lindsey Wilson went on a 13-8 run to close out the half as UC added three-pointers from Kahlil Davis and Hall to take a 33-27 lead into the break.
The second half opened just like the start of the game as Hall hit his third three-pointer of the game, to tie his career-high and extend the lead to 36-27. The Blue Raiders went on an 8-2 run, over the next four minutes, however, Hinson drove and dished out to Payton for three giving UC a 41-35 edge with 14:13 remaining. Lindsey Wilson looked to cut into the deficit with a 10-6 run to make it a one-possession game, but Hinson hit a ten-foot jumper to extend it back to 49-45 midway through the second half.
The two teams traded buckets over the next five minutes as a Fitzgerald three-pointer kept UC ahead 54-52 with 5:47 left. Johrdon Mumford drained a three-pointer at the 3:43 mark to even the score, however, Fitzgerald added a pair from the charity stripe to put UC back in front. Hinson added a three-pointer extending the lead to five as the Blue Raiders responded with five unanswered points to even the score with 45.6 seconds remaining.
J.J. Ramey grabbed an offensive rebound off a Hall missed free throw to give UC the ball with 19 seconds remaining. With their final possession Fitzgerald drove towards the rim and hit a five foot jumper with 5.4 seconds left to put Cumberlands in front 62-60. Lindsey Wilson had an opportunity for the win as they hoisted a trey at the buzzer, but to no avail.
UC will return to the court Saturday at 4:00 p.m. when they face fourth-seed Cumberland in the quarterfinals of the MSC Tournament in Bowling Green, KY. Live video of the game will be available here.
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