Williamsburg, KY – With the regular season and MSC tournament wrapped up, the Patriots set their sights on Bourbonnais, Ill. for the opening round of the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament. UC has grown accustom to seeing themselves on the big stage as this marks the ninth straight year they've qualified for the national championship and will look to make some noise and make it to the round of 16 for the first time since 2016.
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
UC posted a record of 19-11 during the regular season while finishing fifth within the Mid-South as they notched a 13-9 mark in conference play. The Patriot's friendly confines played extremely friendly for UC with the team posting a 13-3 record at home for a win percentage of 81.3.%, good enough for their best mark in three seasons.
Cumberlands began their season hot with them winning each of their first five games and seven of their first nine. UC broke the century mark twice during that span with the first coming in their season opener against Milligan when they scored 102 points while their second such game was against Ohio Valley with the Patriots putting up a season-high 108.
The Patriots finished things as strongly as they began with the team winning a season-high six straight games down the final stretch of the season. Each of those wins came against conference opponents with each game proving to be a close contest as only one of their wins was a double-digit victory.
ACCOLADES AND RECORDS
Cumberlands notched several individual and team records on the season, ones they look to use as the postseason rolls along. UC had a historic season in terms of sending shots back as the Patriots set a program record for total blocks in a season with 141 while also averaging the most rejections in program history at 4.4 a game. Lamar Harris Jr. proved to be instrumental in that success with 50 blocks to his name for third most in a season in program history.
Jahi Hinson etched his name in the Patriot's record books on multiple occasions this past season, establishing himself as one of the more accomplished players to ever play in Williamsburg. After hitting the 1,000 point mark last season, Hinson collected his 500th rebound this year to become the 16th player in UC's history to hit each of those plateaus. He was able to take things one step further by eclipsing 1,500 points to become the 11th player to do so and just the 7th to have 500 rebounds as well. Jahi's efforts were well recognized as he ended up making it to an all-conference team for the third time in his career with it being his first as a first teamer.
Steven Fitzgerald joined Hinson as a First Team All-MSC selection thanks to his standout performance for the Patriots. Fitzgerald finished the regular season fourth in the conference in points while also being in the top five in total rebounds. Steven made his presence felt both on the floor and on the boards in a way few could as he was only one of two players in the MSC to have 500 or more points and 200 or more rebounds on the year, helping him win two Mid-South Player of the Week awards during the campaign. The native of Somerset also hit a major milestone during the season as he amassed over 1,000 points for his career, becoming the 27th Patriot to earn that claim.
POSTSEASON PERSPECTIVE
The Patriots were able to advance past the opening round of the MSC Tournament in their win over Lindsey Wilson. UC hosted the Blue Raiders in the opening round matchup inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center and came out on top 62-60. The Patriots then fell to the Cumberland Phoenix in their quarterfinal contest 68-67 to make their bid to the national tournament of the at-large variety.
Cumberlands earned the 10 seed in the national tournament and is set to take on seven seed Grace College in the opening round of play. The Patriots will travel to Bourbonnais, Ill. for their contest with the Lancers with that game set for Friday, March 11th, with tip-off at 7:00 p.m. CST.
The NAIA Men's National Basketball Tournament is a single elimination format with the final 16 teams moving on to the final site in Kansas City MO. beginning on March 17-22 inside the Municipal Auditorium.
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