Bourbonnais, ILL - UC wasn't able to do quite enough in their lone contest in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament. Cumberlands traveled to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois for their matchup with the Grace College with the Lancers. The Patriots fell behind in the early going and were never able to make it all the way back, falling 73-71.

Lamar Harris Jr. put together one of the best performances of his career as he finished with 24 points for second most on the team, setting a new season and career-high. He also added eight rebounds to his line while rejecting three shots with three steals in the game. Jahi Hinson faceted heavily into Cumberlands' success also as he was first on the team in scoring with 26 points and seven boards

The two teams played an even game in the early going with there being three lead changes and four ties through the first eight minutes as the score stood at 16-12  at the 12:11 mark of the opening half. Hinson did a lot of the heavy lifting for UC during that span with him scoring the first four points and seven of the team's first dozen.

Grace went on a run in which they scored seven unanswered to extend their lead out to double-digits, holding a 23-12 advantage with 9:13 to go in the first half. A pair of paint buckets followed by a three helped the Lancers begin to take over, but it wasn't long before the Patriots went on a run of their own.

After the two teams played each other even over a few minutes, Cumberlands went on a 10-2 run to pull within three with the first half winding. Kahlil Davis started the run with a made trey while Harris Jr. followed with three points the old fashioned way. Davis then drained another triple before Hinson finished off the run for the Patriots with two made shots from the charity stripe, making it a 27-24 count with 4:34 remaining in the first stanza. The final four minutes and change  went by with the Patriots and Lancers playing even as Grace ended the opening half up 40-34.

Most of the second half belonged to the Lancers with their lead hovering around double figures for close to 10 minutes. Grace outpaced UC 11-6 through the first three minutes of the second half to reclaim an 11-point lead with things holding at 51-40 as the clock showed 16:50.The Lancers looked to get the ball in close to the rim and it proved to be a recipe for success as it helped them establish a major advantage on the scoreboard. They then stretched things out further, moving their advantage out to as much as 16.

The Patriots ended up putting together a run in the waning minutes, looking to pull off the comeback and just about did. A mid-range make from Hinson with 3:19 left to go in the game made it a single-digit game with the score at 71-62 to start things off. After a pair of made free throws by Harris Jr., Jahi got back to work and was able to rattle off seven straight points to close the gap further. His final three points of that stretch came off a made triple that made it a two-point game with the score standing at 73-71 with 17 ticks left. 

The Patriots had a chance to pull off the comeback after a turnover by the Lancers on a miscue on the inbounds after Hinson's three. UC set up the play and looked to get the ball moving toward the rim. The Patriot's Kahlil Davis dove inside and had the ball ripped from his hands with Kamari Kenemore picking it up and getting off a shot from three feet away. His layup attempt fell short, though, leaving Cumberlands on the wrong end of the scoreboard. 

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