Campbellsville, KY – The 12th-ranked Patriots capped off a perfect weekend at the Campbellsville Classic with a 97-81 win over Truett McConnell on Saturday afternoon. Cumberlands used a balanced offensive attack with five players in double figures, including a career-high scoring performance from Javecckio Thomas and a season-best nine assists from Andrew McConnell, to move to 8-0 on the year.
 
Thomas led the way with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, while also adding five rebounds and two steals. Kyle Duke paced the Patriots with 22 points and three assists, and Brady Bell added 15 points, five rebounds, and two assists. McConnell finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and a season-high nine assists, while Ikemba Otuonye came off the bench to chip in 10 points and five rebounds. Malachi Robinson added seven points and six boards, and Anthony Harris contributed five points in limited minutes.
 
Cumberlands came out firing, scoring the first five points of the game behind a Bell three and a McConnell fast-break layup. Duke took control early with a pair of layups and another finish in transition to put the Patriots in front 10-4 with 17 minutes remaining in the first half. Thomas made his presence felt soon after, scoring through contact and converting a pair of inside buckets to extend the lead to 15-6. At the midway point of the half, McConnell assisted on back-to-back plays, a Robinson jumper and a Bell dunk in transition, before Otuonye came off the bench to add four quick points and keep the Patriots ahead 29-15.
 
The offensive rhythm continued as Thomas powered in a layup off a Duke assist and Bell connected on a deep three to make it 36-20 with just under eight minutes left. UC pushed the lead to 46-30 after a Thomas layup and a three from Bell, but Truett McConnell closed on a small run to trim the deficit late. McConnell calmly hit two free throws in the final seconds of the half to send the Patriots into the locker room up 51-38.
 
Thomas opened the second half right where he left off, scoring back-to-back layups before converting a three-point play that stretched UC's lead to 56-40. Moments later, Duke buried a three from the top of the key and followed it with a fast-break layup to make it 61-46. The Bears tried to rally, cutting the margin to eight at 64-56 with 13 minutes remaining, but the Patriots immediately answered as Thomas and Bell scored on consecutive trips to push the lead back to 70-60. McConnell continued to control the pace, finding Smithers for a three and Otuonye for a layup as Cumberlands went ahead 79-64 with just over eight minutes to go.
 
From there, UC closed strong. Duke added another three and a pair of free throws to keep the lead near 20, while Otuonye dominated the paint with two layups in the final minutes. Bell added a mid-range jumper off a McConnell assist to make it 86-69 before the Patriots coasted to the 97-81 win to remain unbeaten.
 
Cumberlands shot 46 percent from the field and 78.6 percent from the foul line, converting 33-of-42 free throws. The Patriots scored 44 points in the paint and turned 14 Truett McConnell turnovers into 19 points. UC tallied 18 assists on 29 made baskets and got 23 points from its bench.
 
UC (8-0) will travel to NKU tomorrow for an exhibition match. Tip-off is set for 1 PM ET in Highland Heights, KY.
 
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.