Williamsburg, Ky - After a four-game road trip, UC got back to their friendly confines and were able to take care of business inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center. The Patriots finished out the first week of February with a tough task in the Saints, but were up to it as they won by a final score of 78-73.
Jahi Hinson was the go-to scorer in the this one for Cumberlands, finishing tied for the game-high in points with 22. Hinson shot it well from the floor, going 7-16 in field goals while being nearly automatic in free throws with a 8-9 effort from the charity stripe. Steven Fitzgerald was not far behind his teammate, finishing with 19 points on 6-10 shooting and seven boards to his line. Lamar Harris Jr. also made his presence felt in several ways as he finished with eight points, a team-high eight boards, and five rejections
The game started out close with the two teams never being separated by more than six points through the first dozen minutes of play. The Patriots and Saints played a neck-and-neck game through the majority of the opening stanza with there being three lead changes and three ties up until seven minutes left go in the half. UC used an inside heavy attack to gain a small advantage over their counterpart as 10 of their first 11 makes came in the paint, giving them a 24-18 lead with 7:41 to go.
The Patriots began to find their rhythm on both sides of the ball, going on a 10-3 run to give them their largest lead of the game at 34-21 with 3:51 remaining. Isaiah Payton proved the spark to start the run with a three-pointer the old fashioned way. He was followed by a Hinson mid-range make, a trey from Austin Hall, and a pair of made free throws from Jahi to give UC the 13-point advantage.
Thomas More responded down the stretch and was able to close the gap a bit before heading to the locker room. The Saints went on a 8-2 run in the final four minutes of the first half with Reid Jolly accounting for all of Thomas More's points to make it a 36-29 game at the break.
Halftime did not slow down the Saints as they came out of the locker room on a 24-10 run to help them claim a seven-point lead midway through the second half. Thomas More's run looked much like UC's early offense as all but one of their first 11 makes in the stanza were from inside the paint with the last being an and-one, making it 53-46 in favor of the Saints with 11:49 to go.
Cumberlands battled back to reclaim the lead with just six minutes on the clock with the score standing at 61-60 in favor of the Patriots. UC went on a 15-7 run with J.J. Ramey kicking things off with six straight points. Ramey started off the streak with a hoop and a foul with the free throw dropping before draining his lone three-pointer of the game. Hinson followed him with a pair of made shots with Harris. Jr. hitting a pair of free throws and a Fitzgerald triple ending the run to give the Patriots their first lead in nearly ten minutes.
The Patriot's offensive rebounding played a major part in the final few minutes with them grabbing three on two possessions, leading to five straight points for UC and a 66-62 lead. Free throw shooting also proved paramount as the clock ticked down with Cumberlands hitting eight straight in the final minute and change with each make putting another nail in the Saint's coffin and sealing the Patriot's victory.
Cumberlands improves to 15-10 on the season with their win over #7 Thomas More. They'll look for their third straight win on Monday, February 7th, against Pikeville with UC set to host the Bears at 8:00 p.m.
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