Williamsburg, KY – The 12^th ranked Patriots opened up Mid-South Conference play with a win on their home court Thursday evening against Campbellsville. UC took down the 12-2 Tigers 91-86 as they move to 15-1 on the year.
 
Brady Bell tied his season-high with 19 points going a perfect 7-7 from the field and knocking down five threes. DJ Jones added 15 points, eight assists, and five steals going 7-9 from the charity stripe while Jonathan Brown scored 15 points, shooting 9-10 from the foul line. Harry Morrice played in his first game as a Patriots and ended the night with 12 points and three blocks.
 
Both teams started slow from the gate as the score was just 9-8 in favor of the Patriots after six minutes of play. A Bell three and a fastbreak slam from Anthony Johnson off the Tanner Walton steal put UC up six with 11:38 to play in the half. After a good defensive possession by UC, Johnson came down the floor and hit a jumper in the paint to give Cumberlands an eight-point lead, their largest of the game.
 
The Tigers fought back with three straight baskets before a Jones steal and lay in extended the lead back to four. Both teams traded baskets before Jones found Morrice off the pick-and-roll for an easy finish and then Morrice knocked down a triple to go up by four once again. J.J. Ramey and Robertas Jonaitis connected for another finish in the paint to bring the score to 31-26 with just under four minutes remaining. The Tigers finished the half strong, outscoring UC 13-6 to take a one-point lead into the locker room. This stretch saw five points out of Bell and a FT from Jones.
 
CU scored the first points of the second period to grow their lead to three. A Brown FT cut it back to two before another Jones steal led to a Matthew Cromer layup on the other end to even things up at 38-38. After a Tiger three, Jonaitis rose up for a put back slam to get the momentum back in UC's favor. The following possession a strong move from Brown drew a foul, and the graduate hit both free throws to regain the lead. Campbellsville didn't wait long to respond, taking the lead right back. Both teams traded baskets over the next five minutes of play before back-to-back threes from the Tigers gave them a five-point advantage with 12:47 on the clock.
 
Another steal from Jones led to a triple from Bell to make it a one-possession ballgame. Morrice went one of two from the charity stripe the next time down the floor, and Bell followed his teammate up with two straight three pointers to take a 65-62 lead and force a CU timeout. The Tigers scored out of the timeout, but Bell found Jonaitis for an easy basket in the paint to go back up three with nine minutes to play.
 
The Tigers rattled off nine straight points to take a six-point advantage, their biggest of the night. A triple from Johnson cut the lead in half followed by three made Cromer free throws to tie the game once again with five minutes left. Two more FT's from Jones and a dunk from Morrice put UC up 79-75 before CU hit two free throws of their own to cut their deficit to two. Cumberlands lead stayed at four behind another slam from Morrice and a nice jumper out of Bell. CU hit four free throws in the final two minutes to get within two points, but a brown jumper and Jones finger roll negated the push. UC led with thirty seconds to play, forcing a Tigers foul. Jones and Brown knocked down both of their bonus free throws, and the final buzzer sounded with the Pats on top 91-86.

UC look ahead to Saturday where they take on the 3^rd ranked Georgetown Tigers at home at 3 PM ET. The Patriots are looking for their first victory over the Tigers in four years.
 
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