Williamsburg, KY – The Patriots lost in heartbreaking fashion to a last second shot from Johnson University, 85-84, at home on Monday afternoon. UC's offense started red hot, shooting over 55% in the first half, but they struggled to guard in the paint, allowing the Royals to hang around and take advantage in crunch time.
Anthony Johnson led UC's scorers with 30 points, 4 reb, and 3 assists, while claiming two steals and a block on the defensive end. Harry Morrice tied his career-high with 19 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal while Matthew Cromer finished with 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, and 2 stl. Anthony Harris rounded out UC's double-digit scorers with 11 points and seven boards.
Both teams came out firing on offense, as the score was tied 9-9 after just three minutes of play. Johnson started the game with a triple followed by back-to-back dunks from Morrice. A Harris jumper gave UC their ninth point, but the Royals answered right back to take a two-point lead. Harris responded with another bucket, followed by two free throws from Morrice to tie things up again. JU increased their lead to four, before threes from Johnson and Harris put UC within one. Johnson continued his hot start with a step back jumper to give UC the lead into the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout, JU drew a foul and made both FT's to go up one. Cumberlands then went on a 11-0 run to take back the lead and go up by double figures. After a JU bucket, Cromer found Morrice at the top of the arc for his first three of the night. Cromer then added a layup of his own to keep the lead at 11 with 4:21 to play. Johnson fought back within seven before Johnson earned a trip to the charity stripe and made both. Cromer added a three of his own, UC's fifth of the half, extending the Patriot lead to 10. The senior then made a turn around jumper the next possession, bringing the score to 47-35. A late Morrice dunk on their final offensive possession made the score 49-38 at the break.
Harry Morrice scored the first bucket of the second half, giving UC a 13-point lead. The Pats kept their lead with a nice alley-oop from Tajahri Cave to Harris. JU then outscored the Pats 9-2 over the following five minutes to cut their deficit to five. A pair of Cromer free throws and four more points from Johnson pushed the lead back to 11 for UC. The Royals continued to battle, scoring the next six points to make it 62-57 with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Makes from Cave and Robertas Jonaitis kept a steady lead for the Patriots until Johnson strung together an 8-2 run to make it a two-possession game. Morrice halted the run with a three, but Johnson added four more points to tie things up at 71 apiece. The next trip up the court, Cromer drove through the lane and finished through contact to regain the lead with 4:12 left to play.
After two more JU FT's, Morrice made a trip to the line where he hit one to even the game once again. Both teams continued to go back-and-forth as Johnson followed a JU bucket with a nice finish of his own. Three straight foul shots from the Royals gave them a two-point lead, before Johnson knocked down two free throws to make it 78-78. A JU offensive board led to an open three, giving them the 81-78 lead, but UC responded right away as Harris crashed the offensive glass leading to two more points at the charity stripe.
With one minute remaining, Johnson scored two more points in the paint to grow their lead back to three. Johnson continued to get downhill on offense, drawing a foul and hitting two more FT's, bringing UC within one. UC trapped the Royals on the inbound, forcing a bad pass that Johnson stole out of the air, leading to a foul at the rim that sent Johnson back to the charity stripe. He hit both shots to give UC a one-point lead with 13 seconds remaining. Johnson got into the paint and hit a floater with two seconds left to take the victory.
Cumberlands will look to bounce back on Thursday with a road matchup against the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders. Opening tip is set for 8:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM CT in Columbia, KY.
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