Portsmouth, OH – The Patriots men's basketball team earned their first road win of the season Saturday afternoon, defeating Shawnee State 73-70 inside Waller Gymnasium. Cumberlands improves to 3-0 on the year after holding off a late Bears rally behind a career night from Brant Smithers.
 
Smithers poured in a Patriot career-high 26 points, shooting 8-12 from the field and 7-11 from beyond the arc to lead all scorers. Kyle Duke followed with 17 points, going 10-12 from the free-throw line and adding a pair of assists. Javecckio Thomas continued his strong start to the season with 12 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Malachi Robinson filled the stat sheet with seven boards, two points, and a team-high five assists. Brady Bell and Andrew McConnell each chipped in five points, and Abraham Ibezimakor grabbed three rebounds with a block.
 
Shawnee State jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes before the Patriots responded behind Smithers, who connected on a trio of early threes to cut the deficit. McConnell followed with another triple, and Thomas and Duke added buckets in the paint to tie the game at 11-11 midway through the half.
 
UC's defense stepped up from there as Robinson and Smithers forced a pair of turnovers that led to easy points, including a Thomas layup to put the Patriots ahead. Smithers stayed hot from deep, burying back-to-back threes to push UC ahead 29-26, then hit another long ball and two free throws late to extend the lead. Robinson knocked down a pair from the stripe in the closing minutes before a Bears layup at the buzzer made it 37-35 at halftime.
 
The second half saw the teams trade baskets early before Brady Bell finished a powerful dunk through contact and the ensuing free throw to put UC back in front 42-40. The Patriots built on that momentum with an and-one from Anthony Harris and a three from Smithers to stretch the lead to five.
 
Thomas and Duke continued to attack the rim, combining for multiple trips to the line, while Smithers buried another three from the wing to make it 59-54 midway through the period. On the other end, Robinson came up with a clutch block and Thomas snagged a steal to spark a Duke fast-break layup that gave UC its largest lead at 61-54 with 5:31 remaining.
 
Shawnee State battled back to make it a one-possession game in the closing minutes, but Cumberlands came up with timely stops when it mattered. Robinson and Smithers each grabbed key defensive rebounds in the final minute before Duke calmly sank four straight free throws down the stretch to secure the 73-70 road victory.
 
The Patriots once again showed their grit on the boards, pulling down 35 rebounds to Shawnee State's 37 but holding a slight edge on the offensive glass, 8-7, which led to timely second-chance points. UC shot 41.7 percent from three and forced nine steals while committing just 11 turnovers.
 
Cumberlands (3-0) will return home on Thursday, November 6, to open the Cumberlands Classic against West Virginia University Institute of Technology. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 AM inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on X - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.