WILLIAMSBURG, KY – The No. 8 Patriots men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 81-76 victory over 18^TH ranked Georgetown College (Ky.) on Thursday night inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center, picking up their second Mid-South Conference win of the season. Cumberlands trailed by one at halftime before outscoring the Tigers in the second half and executing down the stretch to improve to 17-3 overall and 2-2 in MSC play.
 
Kyle Duke led all scorers with 28 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists in another complete performance. Andrew McConnell followed with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, connecting on five three-pointers, four coming in the second half. Javecckio Thomas finished with 11 points and four rebounds, while Brant Smithers added 10 points off the bench. Kyler McLendon chipped in six points, Anthony Harris scored three, and Ikemba Otuonye added two as seven Patriots reached the scoring column. Malachi Robinson dominated the defensive side of the ball with nine rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Cumberlands set the tone early as Andrew McConnell opened the scoring with a three on the first possession, followed by a Kyle Duke jumper to give UC a 5-2 lead. The Patriots continued to attack in transition as Duke and Javecckio Thomas scored in the paint, and a Duke three just before the first media timeout pushed the advantage to 15-6. Moments later, Duke finished a fast-break layup after a great steal that saw Robinson dive on the floor and make an outlet pass, to give Cumberlands its largest lead of the half at 17-6. Georgetown responded by getting to the free-throw line, but UC maintained control behind steady defense and rebounding.
 
As the half continued, Georgetown worked back into the game, but Cumberlands answered with timely plays. Kyler McLendon came off the bench and knocked down back-to-back threes to keep UC in front, and Brant Smithers followed with a triple to push the lead back to eight. On the defensive end, Anthony Harris came up with a key block in the paint to halt a Georgetown run, leading to a fast-break layup by Andrew McConnell. Late in the half, Duke added a finish in the lane and McConnell buried another three as the Patriots continued to answer every push, though Georgetown closed strong to take a 40-39 lead into the locker room.
 
The Patriots came out of the locker room with energy, quickly regaining the lead as Thomas scored inside and McConnell knocked down consecutive threes to make it 47-40 early in the second half. Cumberlands built the lead to eight following another McConnell triple and a Duke finish in the paint, forcing Georgetown to take a timeout. UC's defense also stepped up during the stretch, with Malachi Robinson and Thomas contesting shots at the rim to prevent easy baskets.
 
Georgetown made another push midway through the half, eventually tying the gameat 69-69 with five minutes to play. The Tigers would take a four-point lead before Smithers and Duke hit triples of their own. Duke added a mid range jumper with 1:28 on the clock to put the Pats up one. With a minute left, Duke rebounded a Tigers missed three and was fouled, earning a trip to the charity stripe. He knocked both down for a 79-76 lead. After another missed GC three, Thomas iced the game with a layin to give UC the 81-76 win over #18 Georgetown College.
 
Cumberlands shot 42.6 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from three, connecting on 13 triples. The Patriots forced 13 turnovers and held Georgetown to just 16.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the second half.
 
UC (17-3, 2-2 MSC) will return to action next Thursday when they host Bethel 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.