Campbellsville, KY – UC took down Spartanburg Methodist College in their final game of the Campbellsville Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Pats earned a 102-77 victory over the Pioneers with stellar play on both sides of the ball. Cumberlands forced 20 turnovers, scoring 29 points off their opponents miscues.
 
Matthew Cromer had a historic performance, recording just the second triple-double in program history. The senior tallied 23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and also led the team with four steals as well. Anthony Johnson led all scorers as he tied his career-high of 34 points and two steals while DJ Jones recorded a double-double of his own with 15 points and 12 assists, his new career high, and two more steals as well. Brady Bell added 11 points with Ryan Davidson finishing with 10 points as well.
 
The Pats started out hot from deep, knocking down three triples in the first four minutes of action. Cromer hit the first before Bell and Johnson joined in on back-to-back possessions. Two Jones buckets and two nice finishes from Johnson put UC up 18-5 with 14:44 on the clock. Cumberlands found success driving to the basket, drawing a pair of fouls that led to FTs from Johnson and Cromer to extend the lead to 16.
 
The Pioneers responded with a 13-4 run over the next five minutes that made it a seven-point game. Johnson halted the streak with a nice jumper off a Cromer assist followed by a strong and-one finish that grew UC's lead back to 12. Robertas Jonaitis joined the fun with a slam dunk followed by two more Johnson baskets, making it 36-22 with 6:48 left in the half. The Pats outscored the Pioneers 18-15 over the remainder of the half led by Cromer who netted eight points. Jonaitis and Johnson added four points apiece while Bell made a nice euro-step through the lane for a bucket of his own off a Jones steal. UC took a 54-37 lead into the locker room, with Johnson responsible for 24 of the Pats 54 points.
 
Johnson started the scoring in the second half with an easy layup off a nice pass from Jones, his 10^th assist of the game. UC continued to dominate the paint, scoring three straight layups to increase their lead to 22 before a Pioneer basket made it 64-44. The Pats responded right back with another quick layup from Jones to Bell. The next trip down the court, Davidson gave UC their 14^th straight point in the paint as they continued to get to the rim. A Cromer three gave UC their first triple of the second half, keeping UC's lead at 20 before he claimed his fourth steal of the night and finished in transition to give UC a 23-point advantage. UC's defense forced another turnover the following possession, leading to a nice finish from Jones.
 
Jones scored the next seven points for the Patriots, securing his double-double with a mid-range jumper for his 11th point of the ballgame. Four straight free throws from Bell and Johnson put UC up by 25 before Cromer found Bell in transition for a dunk to make it 89-62 with 7:25 left to play. Johnson nailed a deep three a minute later for his 34^th point of the afternoon followed by a nice offensive board and put back from Cromer. The London, KY native continued to dominate the glass grabbing a defensive rebound the next possession and finding Jones down the court for an easy lay. This gave Cromer his 10^th rebound and 10^th assist of the contest, as he earned just the second triple-double in program history. The final five minutes of play saw another basket from Jones to go with a Davidson jumper and a put back from Jeremiah Godfrey to close the game with UC taking the win, 102-77.
 
Cumberlands move to 9-0 on the season, and look ahead to a big week next weekend as they compete at The Show tournament in Kingsport, TN. They will take on #12 Northwestern (IA) on Friday, November 29^th at 2 PM ET.
 
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.