Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots earned a big win on Senior Day to clinch their first Mid-South Conference Regular Season Championship in 21 years. UC took down Bethel University 83-54, moving to 25-3 on the season, the most wins in a regular season since 1996/97.  
 
UC held the Wildcats to 54 points, the fewest points they have allowed all season, on just 31.7% shooting from the field. Seven different Patriots earned a steal, and as a team the Pats forced 19 turnovers. Cumberlands started slow off the tip, going just 1-10 from deep, but only allowed 20 first-half points to the Wildcats.
 
Offensively, 12 different Patriots scored on Saturday led by senior J.J. Ramey with 16 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high three blocked shots. Tajahri Cave filled the stat sheet with 11 pts, 7 ast, 4 stl, and 1 reb. Brady Bell added 11 points while DJ Jones and Matthew Cromer scored eight each.
 
The first half started slow for both teams, as UC had a 6-0 lead until the 15:11 mark where Bethel scored their first point. Jones made a nice move to get to the rim to open the coring before adding a steal that led to a Jonathan Brown slam. BU strung a couple of offensive possessions together after Cave made back-to-back buckets to make it 10-9 halfway through the first.
 
Layups from Robertas Jonaitis and Anthony Johnson saw UC's lead grow to five before a Wildcats three cut it back to two. Two more Patriot lay ins made the score 18-12 followed by a made Bethel free throw. Ramey answered right back with five points including a dunk and an and-one finish with the FT. The final five minutes of the period saw UC's lead grow all the way to 15 off a Jonaitis slam, UC's only three of the half from Brown, and a fastbreak layup out of Bell. Bethel scored with 11 seconds remaining to cut their deficit to 12, as UC led 32-20 into the half.
 
After a tough three-point performance in the first half, the Pats came out on fire knocking down four triples in the opening four minutes. The London, Ky duo of Ramey and Cromer hit two each along with another nice finish in the lane from Jones to put UC up 48-28. A Johnson steal and dime to Harry Morrice led to a big slam, followed by a pull-up from Jones and a three out of Tanner Walton as the lead grew to 27. Morrice and Bell got in on the fun, hitting back-to-back threes as UC went up 31 with 11:47 to play.
 
The Pats went deep into their bench for the final eight minutes of play. Ryan Davidson had a nice finish off a Cave pass followed by senior Justin Sharp knocking down the first three of his careers. He added a steal and rebound as well. Brown, Ramey, and Sharp were subbed out with 30 seconds of play and earned one more round of applause as they walked off the court. The final buzzer sounded with UC on tip 83-54.
 
UC stands at the top of the MSC alongside Freed Hardeman, as they will be crowned Co-Champions of the MSC. Both squads finished 10-2 in conference play and split the head-to-head matchup. UC has not earned these honors since the 02/03 season.
 
Head Coach Matt Daniel talked about the win and his team saying "This group has been an incredibly fun group to work with day in and day out. It is exciting to see them reap the benefits of all their hard work. Winning a share of the MSC title is extremely gratifying. Our league year in and year out is as tough as any in the country and to compete at the highest level is a testament to our players and the season they've had."
 
Cumberlands will go into the MSC Tournament as the #2 overall seed, dropping the tiebreaker to Freed Hardeman based on a one-point differential. This means the Pats will play #7 Cumberland University at 6 PM ET/5 PM CT on Saturday, March 2^nd in Bowling Green, KY.
 
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