Henderson, TN – The Patriots get their first win over a ranked opponent this season after J.J. Ramey knocked down a contested three at the buzzer to win it! UC move to 15-8 on the year and 9-8 in MSC play with their 82-79 win over #14 Freed-Hardeman. Cumberlands found success at the charity stripe going 15-16 at the line.
 
Jahi Hinson led all scorers on Saturday with 24 points. Not only did this lead the Pats to victory, but it moved the senior into the #2 spot on UC's All-Time Scorers list. Ramey tallied 18 points to go along with his game winner while Austin Hall went for 13 points, a career high 9 boards, and 4 blocks. Jadrian Flores rounded out Cumberlands double-digit scorers with 12 pts, 4 reb, and 2 stls.
 
The Lions jumped out to a 7-0 start before Ramey answered with five points of his own. Hall made his presence known on the defensive end with three blocks in three minutes. Triples from Matt Cromer and Hinson along with a Flores layup tied the game at 13-13 with 10 minutes left in the half. A pair of free throws from Hall and another lay-in from Flores gave UC their first lead of the game.
 
FHU responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead with 7:21 on the clock. Four more foul shots from UC brought the game back to 21-21. Freed-Hardeman outscored UC 16-15 over the remainder of the half to take a 37-36 lead after 20 minutes of play.
 
Ramey hit three free throws to open up half number two. A couple of FHU baskets increased the Lions lead before jumpers from Ramey and Kamari Kenemore and a strong finish at the rim from Flores made it 45-45 with 16:41 to play. Both teams traded baskets over the following four minutes to keep the game even with just under 13 on the clock.
 
The next three minutes of play was all Lions as they took an eight point lead over the Pats. This sparked a 15-4 UC run led by Hinson who tallied 11 points in just five minutes. A Flores tip-in and Hall's sixth made free throw rounded out UC's run, giving them the 68-65 lead with five minutes remaining.
 
Freed tied the game with a three pointer of their own before another Hall bucket put UC back on top. An FHU layup led to Kenemore and Hinson claiming buckets of their own to bring the score to 74-70 Pats. An and-one dunk from Ramey grew UC's lead to six with two minutes on the clock.
 
FHU got within two before Hinson scored his 24^th point of the night to bring their lead back to four. The Lions converted on back-to-back UC turnovers in a full-court press to make it 79-79 with 11 seconds on the clock. Hinson brought the ball down the court and tried to make a move to the paint before he was forced to kick the ball out to Hall on the three point line. Hall swung it over to Ramey who pulled up trying to draw a foul on his defender, but did not need it as he drained the triple as the buzzer sounded to give his team the 82-79 win.
 
The Patriots finish their road trip a perfect 2-0 and head back to the Burg for three straight home games. They will have next Thursday off before taking on 10^th ranked Georgetown College on Saturday Feb. 4^th. Gametime is set for 3 PM ET.

 
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