Rio Grande, OH – The 19^th ranked Patriots overcame a double-digit deficit at the half to defeat RV Rio Grande on Saturday. UC outscored Rio 44-20 in the second half in route to a 73-60 victory, moving to 12-0 on the season. This marks the third win over a team receiving votes in the NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll this season.
 
Anthony Johnson led Cumberlands with 18 points while adding five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists. DJ Jones netted 15 pts while Matthew Cromer and Brady Bell contributed 12 and 11 points respectively.
 
The Red Storm started the game with a pair of threes followed by a three from Jones and a J.J. Ramey slam to make it 5-6 early. Rio tacked on five more before Jonathan Brown made a layup to cut the deficit to four. Johnson caught fire for the Pats scoring the next eight points before a jumper from Jones and a Cromer triple gave UC their first lead of the game with 8:10 left in the half. The remainder of the period was all Rio as they outscored UC 20-9 to take a 40-29 lead.
 
Rio Grande made the first basket of the second half before a Jones steal and score plus a made free throw from Brown cut the Red Storm lead to 10. Rio responded with a layup of their own before the pats rattled off 17 straight to take a five point advantage. Bell knocked down a pair of big threes during this stretch accompanied by a Johnson triple and a nice offensive board leading to a lay in from Cromer. Rio would score to make it 49-46 in favor of UC, but Cumberlands kept their foot on the gas, scoring seven more to increase the lead to 10 with just over seven minutes to play.
 
Both teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, with Johnson and Brown getting a pair of buckets a piece. Five UC free throws and a nice tip-in from Tanner Walton pushed the lead to 17 with 2:29 to play. Th lead proved too much for the Red Storm as the final buzzer sounded with the Pats on top 73-60.
 
UC will travel Northern Kentucky on Thursday for their second exhibition matchup of the year. Tip off is set for 7 Pm in Highland Heights, KY.
 
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