WILLIAMSBURG, KY – The 9th-ranked Patriots men's basketball team closed out the Cumberlands Classic with another dominant performance Saturday afternoon, defeating Midway 86-59 inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center. The win pushes Cumberlands to 12-0 on the season, capping off a strong weekend at home for the undefeated Patriots.
 
Kyle Duke and Kyler McLendon led UC with 14 points each, including a career-high scoring effort for McLendon, who finished 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from three. Ikemba Otuonye added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Javecckio Thomas posted 10 points, six rebounds, and a season-best five blocks. Andrew McConnell and Malachi Robinson each contributed nine points, and Anthony Harris added seven off the bench. Eleven Patriots entered the scoring column for the second straight day.
 
Cumberlands opened the game with strong defensive energy as Malachi Robinson blocked a jumper on the opening possession before Duke put UC ahead 3-2 with a layup and free throw. Moments later, Robinson jumped a passing lane and found Duke, who assisted him on a fast-break dunk to make it 6-2. Thomas added a block at the 18:17 mark that led directly to a transition layup, stretching the lead to 8-2.
 
After Midway closed the gap to 8-7, Duke scored in traffic and Harris added a dunk to push the score to 12-7. A few possessions later, Thomas converted inside before Harris finished another fast-break dunk to make it 17-10. Midway knocked down threes to stay within reach, but UC responded with three straight triples, one from Duke, one from Smithers, and one from McLendon, to build the lead to 29-16.
 
UC's defense kept applying pressure, highlighted by a Thomas block at 3:44 that maintained the double-digit margin. Otuonye added a dunk and free throws inside, while McLendon drilled his second three of the half to send the Patriots to the locker room up 40-29.
 
Early in the second half, Thomas swatted away a shot at 18:29 before McConnell buried a jumper to extend the lead to 42-29. Robinson scored inside and Duke knocked down a deep three moments later to make it 47-34. Another Thomas block at 16:37 protected the lead, and Brady Bell connected from beyond the arc to stretch the advantage to 53-36.
 
From there, UC took control. McLendon caught fire with back-to-back threes to push the advantage to 62-40. Otuonye powered inside for multiple layups, Harris threw down consecutive dunks off assists from Walton, and Johnson scored off the bench in transition to make it 79-55 with just over two minutes remaining. Late buckets from Shaw Daves and McLendon, including McLendon's third triple of the half, sealed the 86-59 win.
 
Cumberlands shot 43.9 percent from the floor and connected on 10 threes while outrebounding Midway 47-34, including 16 offensive boards that produced 20 second-chance points. UC's defense forced 16 turnovers, blocked seven shots, and held Midway to 33.8 percent shooting from the field.
 
Cumberlands (12-0) will return to action on Friday, December 12, when they travel to Ohio to face the University of Rio Grande at 6 PM.
 
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.