Henderson, TN – A dominate second half effort gave #19 UC the season-sweep over fourth ranked Freed-Hardeman on Thursday night. The Pats rallied back from a four-point halftime deficit to take down the Lions, 86-75. Anthony Johnson shined with a career-high 36 points, while also eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in a Patriot uniform. Cumberlands also exceled from three, shooting 9-15 (60%) from deep.
It was a tale of two halves for UC as they turned the ball over 11 times and gave up 19 free throws in the first frame. They responded with just three turnovers in the second half, while giving up seven foul shots to the Lions while outscoring their opponent 51-36 over the final 20 minutes of action.
Johnson's 36 points led all scorers. He added five assists and three rebounds while Harry Morrice finished with a 12 point, 15 board double-double. Matthew Cromer went for 17 pts, 8 reb, 3 stl, and 2 assists while Tajahri Cave added 12 points of his own.
The Pats jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead in the opening five minutes of play. Johnson added four of the 12 followed by a pair of dunks from Morrice and Cave. FHU responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Another bucket from Morrice gave UC their first points in over three minutes, followed by a free throw from Anthony Harris to even the game at 15-15.
After two more Lions points, Cromer made a nice move and an even better finish through contact for an and one, give UC back the lead. The two teams continued to go back and forth, with Cromer nailing a triple the next possession to put UC ahead by two. Cromer continued to make an impact on the game, jumping a Freed-Hardeman pass and giving it up to Johnson for an easy backdoor finish. FHU answered right back, before Morrice finished a reverse lay in in the paint to make it 25-25 with 6:39 left in the half. FHU ended the half outscoring UC 14-10 to take a four-point lead into the break. This stretch saw seven points from Johnson along with a triple from Cave.
Another triple from Johnson and a nice reverse lay in and free throw out of Harris opened the second half of play, cutting the deficit to two. FHU answered with five points of their own before Johnson found Morrice for a two-hand slam. Cromer followed with a smooth step-back triple as the score moved to 48-46. After a Lion bucket, UC stormed back with an 11-2 run with six more points from Johnson and five from Cave including his second three of the night.
Johnson continued to make plays on the offensive end, scoring seven of the next 11 Patriot points, getting to the foul line at ease. Defensively, Morrice and Harris protected the rim with a combined three blocks, leading to four more Cromer points to give Cumberlands a 67-58 lead with 7:59 to play. Another foul shot from Johnson pushed the lead to double figures for the first time of the night, before five FHU points brought it back to a two-possession game. Cave then found Morrice for a nice mid-range jumper that found the bottom of the net to extend the lead back to seven with just over six to play.
The Patriots could not be stopped on offense, answering every FHU bucket with a bucket of their own. Johnson was still having his way with the Lions, adding seven points and three assists in the final minutes of play to ice the victory. He first found Harris for a high-flying slam before making a lay in of his own. Cave followed suit with a layup, before Morrice's 15th rebound of the night led to a Cromer basket in transition off a pass from Johnson. He then got to the rack one more time, before dishing out another assist to Harris, hitting him behind the arc for a dagger three to put the Patriots up 83-71 with 1:17 to play. Johnson then added another three points for his fourth triple of the night as the Patriots took down the fourth ranked Lions 86-75.
Cumberlands now look ahead to Saturday where they will have a chance to clinch their second-straight Mid-South Conference regular season title as they take on Bethel University. With a win over BU the Pats will secure at least a share of the title. Georgetown and Freed-Hardeman will also play on Saturday. With an FHU win over GC the Pats would claim the title outright with a 10-2 record in conference play. With a GC win both UC and GC would be 10-2, splitting the regular season trophy. The Patriots will tipoff at 4 PM ET / 3 PM CT in McKenzie, TN.
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.
