Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots had one of their best defensive efforts of the season in route to a 73-65 victory over the Tennessee Southern Firehawks on Saturday afternoon. UC held their opponents to just 22 points in the first half and forced 20 turnovers to tie their season best. Cumberlands took advantage of these miscues, scoring 23 points off turnovers and move to 6-0 on the year.
Sophomore
Brady Bell had his best game so far this season, scoring 19 points off 6-10 shooting from deep.
DJ Jones added 14 points and three steals while
Robertas Jonaitis added 10 pts. 4 reb and 2 stl as well.
Anthony Johnson saw his first action of the year for the Pats and netted eight points.
Matthew Cromer snagged a team-high nine boards for UC as well.
UT Southern started the game with a pair of free throws before Bell knocked down his first triple of the game. Jones made a nice move to get to the rack the following possession to make it 5-2. The Firehawks responded with a three of their own and a free throw to retake the lead. A pair of baskets from Jonaitis and
Tajahri Cave tied the game up at 9-9 with 15:26 on the clock.
Both teams traded baskets over the next six minutes.
Tanner Walton knocked down a big three before Johnson and Jonaitis combined for three points to even things back up at 15-15. Bell broke the tie with another three ball, sparking a 15-3 run which put the Patriots up 30-18. This stretch saw a another Joanitis basket followed by a triple out of
J.J. Ramey.
Jonathan Brown got to the charity stripe and hit one before a pair of makes from Jones and a nice fastbreak layup from Cromer off a Jonaitis steal put UC up 12 with three minutes to play. Cromer would hit a nice jumper in the paint for UC's final bucket of the half, and Cumberlands took a 32-22 lead into the locker room.
The Firehawks cut their deficit to seven over the opening three minutes of the second period. Bell came up huge once again for UC, hitting a pair of triples triple to increase their lead to 15. UTS made a layup their next time down the court followed by another impressive shot from Cromer. UTS missed two triples in a row before Bell hit his fifth three pointer of the game to give UC an 18-point advantage with 14:08 to play.
Tennessee Southern did not go away quietly, hitting back-to-back shots over the next two minutes. Jones responded with a nice finish at the rim and his first three of the day. Johnson followed with six straight points off a highlight dunk, a layup, and a pair of free throws, putting the Patriots up 20, their largest lead of the night. The next three minutes saw both teams score eight points which included another
Brady Bell three, his sixth of the contest. UTS finished the final 5:36 on a 19-6 run, but it was too little too late, as UC came out on top 73-65.
Cumberlands will be back at home this Tuesday Nov. 14
th for their second matchup with the Midway University Eagles. The Patriots are looking to go 7-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Tip off is scheduled for 7 PM.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.
