Williamsburg, KY – A late second half surge from the Patriots was not enough to overcome Freed-Hardeman on Thursday night. UC fell 83-78, moving to 11-5 overall and 5-5 in Mid-South play this season. Cumberlands held FMU to just 17.6% from beyond the arc and 0-8 in the second half, but went 23-34 from the foul line in the loss.
 
Steven Fitzgerald posted his first double-double of the season, and seventh in his career at UC with 24 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. The senior added three assists and two steals to his stat line as well. Fellow senior Isaiah Payton was the only other Patriot in double figures as he went for 12 points and three assists. UC's bench put together a solid effort led by Andre Silva who netted nine points while grabbing eight boards. Lamar Harris Jr. added eight points and Jadrian Flores scored seven as well.
 
The Lions jumped out to a 13-4 lead over the first three minutes of action. The Patriots saw a jumper and layup out of Matt Cromer and Fitzgerald over this stretch of play. Cumberlands battled back to tie things up with 13:41 to play, getting threes out of Payton and Cromer as well as buckets from Fitzgerald and Harris. The next possession, Harris gave UC their first lead of the night in style with a steal that led to a slam on the other end. Back-to-back scores from the Lions gave them the lead before another Payton triple put UC on top 21-20 with 12:13 left to play.
 
The next six minutes of play was all Freed-Hardeman as they went on a 20-2 run, giving them a 17 point advantage. Good free throws from Harris, Silva, J.J. Ramey, and Fitzgerald cut the lead to single-digits with just over two minutes to go in the half. The rest of the half saw just two foul shots from Fitzgerald while the Lions netted four points themselves to make it 48-35 going into the locker room.
 
Austin Hall started the second half with a finish at the rim off a nice pass from Fitzgerald. However FHU answered right back outscoring UC 10-2 to take their largest lead of the night at 58-40. Cumberlands did not give up, going back and forth with the Lions before cutting their lead to just eight with 7:29 on the clock. Fitzgerald led the Pats over this stretch scoring seven points, while Cromer and Payton each netted three of their own. Flores and Silva added layups while Harris secured his second steal and dunk of the night as well.
 
Fitzgerald hit one of two free throws before Flores finished an and-one to make it 66-62 with six minutes left. The Lions responded with a lay in of their own before a Silva alley-oop from Fitzgerald cut the lead back to four. FHU hit a tough jumper the following possession, but UC quickly answered with buckets in the paint from Ramey and Fitzgerald. Flores drew a foul the next trip down the court and swished both shots at the charity stripe to even the score at 70 with 3:37 left to play.
 
The Lions went back up six points over the next minute and a half. Fitzgerald scored his 24^th point of the night with a jumper to make it a 76-72 game with just over a minute to play. An and-one out of FHU increased their lead to eight. Silva finished through a foul and secured the three point play with 16 seconds remaining. UC was forced to foul and the Lions went 3-4 at the line over their final two possessions. A late Payton three went in, but was not enough as Freed-Hardeman edged out Cumberlands 83-78.
 
The Patriots have just one day before hosting Bethel on Saturday the 7^th. Gametime is set for 3 PM ET.
 
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