HENDERSON, TN – In a top-five Mid-South Conference matchup, the No. 3 Patriots men's basketball team fell 101-89 to No. 2 Freed-Hardeman on Saturday afternoon inside Brewer Sports Center. Cumberlands led at the break behind a strong first half from Kyle Duke, but a decisive second-half push by the Lions handed UC its second straight conference loss, dropping the Patriots to 15-3 overall and 0-2 in league play.
 
Duke led all scorers with 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 17 points in the first half, while adding nine rebounds and two steals. Andrew McConnell followed with 24 points, knocking down six three-pointers and adding three assists. Brant Smithers provided a spark off the bench with 15 points, while Javecckio Thomas added six points and four rebounds. Brady Bell and Anthony Harris finished with four points apiece, and Tanner Walton and Kyler McLendon each chipped in two as nine Patriots found the scoring column.
 
Cumberlands opened the game with confidence as Kyle Duke scored in transition and followed with a three to give UC an early 5-0 lead. Andrew McConnell added a triple of his own, and Duke continued to attack the rim as the Patriots held an early advantage. Freed-Hardeman answered to take a brief lead, but UC stayed within a possession behind inside finishes from Javecckio Thomas and steady scoring from Duke, keeping the game tight through the opening stretch.
 
Midway through the first half, the Patriots began to regain momentum. Tanner Walton scored in transition to pull UC within one, and Anthony Harris added a tip-in that helped swing the lead back to Cumberlands. With just over seven minutes remaining, Duke scored on consecutive possessions to put UC back in front, and late threes from Brant Smithers extended the margin. Behind 17 first-half points from Duke, Cumberlands closed the half on top 43-41.
 
The second half opened with the teams trading baskets as McConnell and Duke continued to lead the offense. Duke cleaned up his own miss early in the period, and McConnell finished on the break to keep UC ahead by three. Just before the midway point of the half, McConnell knocked down free throws to briefly extend the Patriots' lead to four as the game remained tightly contested.
 
Freed-Hardeman responded with a strong run, pushing the lead to double digits as the Lions found success from beyond the arc. Cumberlands continued to battle, cutting the deficit to eight behind a McConnell three and a Duke fast-break basket with under ten minutes to play. Smithers later finished inside to pull UC within striking distance again, but Freed-Hardeman capitalized at the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the 101-89 result.
 
Cumberlands shot 49.2 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three, connecting on 12 triples, but was outscored 60-46 in the second half. The Patriots finished with 34 rebounds and forced 11 turnovers but could not overcome the second-half surge.
 
Cumberlands (15-3, 0-2 MSC) will look to bounce back on Thursday, January 15, when they return home to host Cumberland University (Tenn.) at 7:30 PM inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center.
 
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.