WILLIAMSBURG, KY – The No. 8 Cumberlands men's basketball team bounced back Friday evening, defeating Indiana University Southeast 90-77 inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center and Randy Vernon Court. After trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, the Patriots used a strong offensive stretch to take control before dominating the glass in the second half. UC pulled down 45 rebounds, including 16 offensive boards, and scored 20 second-chance points to improve to 7-1 on the season.
Brant Smithers and Javecckio Thomas led the Patriots with 19 points apiece. Smithers knocked down five three-pointers, shooting 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, while Thomas went 11-of-13 from the free-throw line and added eight rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Trey Johnson followed with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, connecting on three triples. Jhamien Smith provided a spark off the bench with 12 points and seven rebounds, shooting 6-of-11 from the field.
Abraham Ibezimakor continued his dominant stretch on the glass, recording his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, including five offensive boards. The senior forward surpassed his previous career high of 15 rebounds, set earlier in the week against Johnson University. Tajahri Cave and Julian Miles added six points apiece, with Miles connecting on two three-pointers, while Kendall Phillips rounded out the scoring with two points.
Cumberlands opened the contest with a three-pointer from Smithers before Thomas added a pair of free throws to give UC a 5-2 advantage. The Grenadiers responded with a 10-2 run to take a 12-7 lead before Thomas scored inside to cut the deficit to three. IU Southeast continued to find success from beyond the arc, extending its lead to 17-9 with just under 14 minutes remaining. Kendall Phillips converted a pair of free throws before Johnson knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Patriots within three at 17-14. The Grenadiers answered with another triple and eventually pushed their advantage to 25-16 midway through the half.
The Patriots responded with a strong offensive stretch as Jhamien Smith scored inside before Johnson converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to four. Thomas followed with a pair of free throws before Smithers knocked down a three-pointer to give UC its first lead since the opening minutes at 26-25. IU Southeast briefly regained the advantage, but Johnson answered with another triple before Smithers connected from deep to push the lead to 32-27. Ibezimakor and Cave added baskets inside to extend the margin to 36-27 before Ibezimakor scored again to give UC a 39-27 advantage. The Grenadiers battled back late in the half, but Johnson connected on his third three-pointer to help the Patriots carry a 44-38 lead into halftime.
UC came out firing in the second half as Smithers knocked down his fourth three-pointer to extend the lead to nine. IU Southeast responded with a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to 50-48, but Smithers converted a pair of free throws before Miles connected from beyond the arc to push the advantage back to seven. Johnson added two free throws, and Jhamien Smith scored off an offensive rebound before Thomas finished inside to give UC a 61-53 lead. Smith added another putback, while Thomas scored again off an offensive rebound to extend the advantage to 65-55 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
The Pats continued to create second-chance opportunities as Smith scored inside before Miles knocked down his second three-pointer to make it 70-57. Smith added another basket, but the Grenadiers responded with a run to cut the margin to 73-66 with just over six minutes remaining. Smithers answered with his fifth triple to push the lead back to double digits before Cave scored in transition following a Johnson steal. Ibezimakor added a basket inside before Cave came away with a steal and threw down a dunk to give UC its largest lead of the night at 82-66 with 3:48 remaining. Thomas converted four free throws over the final minute, while Johnson added two from the line to secure the 90-77 victory.
Cumberlands shot 42.2% from the field and 40% from three-point range, connecting on 10 triples while recording 15 assists. The Patriots outrebounded IU Southeast 45-27 and held a commanding 16-3 advantage on the offensive glass. UC scored 20 second-chance points while limiting the Grenadiers to zero, and the Patriots also received 36 points from their bench. Defensively, Cumberlands forced 11 turnovers and held IU Southeast to just seven made free throws on 15 attempts.
The Patriots (7-1) return to action Tuesday, November 17, when they welcome Alice Lloyd College to the O. Wayne Rollins Center and Randy Vernon Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 AM in Williamsburg.
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