Kingsport, TN – The ninth ranked Patriots dropped a heartbreaker to RV Ave Maria as their late rally comes up just short in the final seconds of play. UC trailed by 17 points with eight minutes to play in the second half, but battled back to a 105-103 final score, moving to 9-2 on the year.
 
Cumberlands gave up a season-high 16 threes to the Gyrenes while hitting nine of their own. UC entered the game shooting 74% from the free throw line but went just 16-28 (57%) on Saturday. Four Patriots scored at least 18 points led by Anthony Johnson who finished with 30 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Brady Bell added 19 points while Matthew Cromer recorded his third straight double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Davidson also had a good offensive performance for UC, scoring 18 points with six boards as well.
 
AMU jumped out to a 14-3 lead before Johnson and Bell combined for nine points to cut the deficit to two. Johnson stayed hot, converting an and-one followed by buckets from Tanner Walton, Davidson, and Johnson to even things up at 21-21. Back-to-back triples from Davidson gave the Pats the 27-24 lead with 9:22 remaining.
 
UC held a three-point lead over the next three minutes as layups from Tajahri Cave, Walton, and Davidson made it 36-33. The final five minutes was all Ave Maria, as AMU went on a 18-4 run to take an 11-point lead. Bell gave the Patriots a spark of momentum, knocking down a contested three with less than five seconds to bring the score to 54-46 into the half.
 
Davidson opened the scoring in the second half off an assist from Cromer. AMU added five points of their own before a pair of offensive rebounds led to four points for Davidson. Johnson and Bell followed with nice moves in the paint to get to the charity stripe, knocking down all four foul shots. DJ Jones got in on the scoring with his first basket of the game to bring UC within three. AMU the outscored the Pats 13-4 over the next four minutes to increase their lead to double figures.
 
Back-to-back threes from Johnson gave the Patriots a burst of momentum before the Gyrenes responded right back with two more threes of their own. AMU went up by as much as 17 before eight points from Cromer combined with a Jones layup and a Johnson FT put UC right back in the game with 6:25 to play.
 
After three Ave Maria free throws, Cromer followed his own missed three with a beautiful offensive rebound and put back. Johnson then stole the Gyrenes pass out of bounds and found Bell under the basket for an easy lay to cut the AMU lead to eight. After a solid defensive possession from UC, Jones got to the rim and made a nice finish to make it 98-92 with just under four to play. Jones then found Bell who finished through contact for his 19^th point of the game, bringing the Patriots within four. Bell would miss the free throw, but Jones came away with a huge offensive rebound leading to Cromer getting fouled and going to the foul line once again where he went one for two.
 
Anthony Johnson continued to impress, knocking down a three to tie the game at 98-98. AMU responded with four straight points before Johnson drove down the lane and took flight, dunking on a pair of Gyrene defenders to make it a one possession game once again. After another AMU basket, Cromer got to the foul line, where he made one of two. The Pats defense came up with a huge stop the following possession, as Cromer grabbed his 10^th rebound of the day and drove the length of the court for a nice finish, making the score 104-103 AMU with 44 seconds left. The Pats had a chance the next trip on offense, but the Cromer jumper came up short forcing UC to foul and send Ave Maria to the charity stripe where they went 1-2. Johnson snagged the rebound off the missed free throw with five seconds to play and drove the length of the court to the rim, where he tried to finish through contact with multiple AMU defenders but it did not fall, as UC's late comeback fell just short 105-103.
 
Cumberlands move to 9-2 overall on the season. The Pats will look to bounce back and get their 10^th win at Dalton State College next Tuesday at 7 PM ET.
 
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