Williamsburg, KY– The 9th-ranked University of the Cumberlands men's basketball team celebrated a historic night in dominating fashion Friday, defeating Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 113-65 inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center. The victory not only extended UC's unbeaten start to 11-0 but also marked Head Coach Matt Daniel's 100th career win at Cumberlands, making him the fourth coach in program history to surpass the century mark.
The Patriots had one of their most complete performances of the season, shooting 56.3 percent from the field and over 51 percent from three while placing six players in double figures.
Andrew McConnell led the way with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including five three-pointers, along with three assists and two steals.
Anthony Harris followed with 19 points and five rebounds, while
Brant Smithers scored 13 points, all in the second half.
Ikemba Otuonye and
Javecckio Thomas each added nine points, with Thomas also grabbing five rebounds.
Kyle Duke tallied 10 points and three assists, and
Brady Bell chipped in eight. Off the bench,
Kyler McLendon and
Jalan Johnson scored seven and six, respectively, while
Malachi Robinson and
Tanner Walton each added four points.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods struck first, but the Patriots wasted no time responding. McConnell knocked down consecutive threes to give UC an 8-4 lead, and Thomas added a triple of his own before
Anthony Harris scored on a layup in transition to push the lead to 15-8.
Midway through the first half, McConnell stayed hot from deep with his third three of the night, while Duke followed with one from the top of the key to make it 23-12. A few possessions later, Harris threw down a reverse dunk on a fast break before Thomas added a strong finish inside. Smithers and Duke each hit threes late in the half as UC closed on a 10-2 run to take a 49-35 lead into the break.
The Patriots exploded out of the locker room to open the second half. Bell converted a fast-break layup on an assist from Duke before McConnell drained back-to-back threes to extend the margin to 54-37. Duke added a jumper from the elbow and Bell hit another three to push it to 60-39 less than five minutes into the half.
Smithers came off the bench and provided an immediate spark, scoring 11 points in a six-minute span, highlighted by three makes from long range. Harris kept the energy rolling with back-to-back dunks, one off a feed from Bell and another in transition from
Kyler McLendon, to give UC an 89-51 advantage with just over nine minutes to play.
Otuonye continued the onslaught with multiple put-backs in the paint, and McLendon added a pair of layups before Johnson closed the night by hitting all six of his free throws in the final two minutes. By the final buzzer, all 11 Patriots who saw action had scored, capping off a wire-to-wire team win on a milestone evening for Coach Daniel.
Cumberlands shot 56.3 percent from the floor, including 14-of-27 (51.9%) from three, and 76 percent from the free-throw line. The Patriots also forced 18 turnovers that led to 29 points, scored 52 in the paint, and got 58 points from their bench in the victory.
Cumberlands (11-0) will be back in action on Saturday, December 6, when they host Midway University at 12 PM to wrap up the Cumberlands Classic inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center.
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