KANSAS CITY, MO – The No. 4 seed Patriots saw their season come to a close Friday afternoon, falling 82-74 to No. 1 seed Grace (IN) in the NAIA National Championship Round of 16 inside Municipal Auditorium. Cumberlands battled throughout in a back-and-forth contest but was unable to overcome Grace's efficiency down low, finishing the season at 25-8 with their third straight appearance at the NAIA Final Site.
 
Andrew McConnell led the Patriots with a game-high 24 points, knocking down five three-pointers and scoring 18 in the second half. He added five rebounds and an assit. Kyle Duke added 15 points,  5 assists, while Javecckio Thomas finished with eight points and five rebounds. Anthony Harris chipped in eight points, Malachi Robinson added six pts, 4 reb, and 4 stl, Brant Smithers had six, Tanner Walton scored four, and Abraham Ibezimakor contributed three as eight Patriots scored in the contest.
 
Cumberlands came out strong, opening the game on a 9-2 run behind a pair of layups from Thomas and a three from McConnell. Duke followed with a triple to extend the lead to 12-5, and Anthony Harris added a dunk to keep the Patriots in front 14-7. UC continued to control the early pace as Harris scored twice more inside, pushing the margin to 18-10.
 
Grace responded midway through the half, using a run to trim the deficit to 20-18 before Walton nailed a three with a foul for a four-point play. The Lancers then took their first lead at 34-33 with under three minutes remaining. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, as Duke answered with a jumper to briefly put UC back in front. GC went up five with 50 seconds on the clock before Robinson made a nice turn around, and earned a steal with less than 10 seconds left, finding Ibezimakor in transition for a last second bucket to trail by one at the break.
 
The second half remained tightly contested. McConnell opened the scoring with three free throws before knocking down a three to cut the deficit to 49-47. Moments later, Robinson scored inside to give Cumberlands a 51-50 lead, and Smithers added a three to extend the advantage to four.
 
The lead continued to change hands as the teams battled. McConnell scored on back-to-back possessions, including a three at the 7:19 mark to give UC a 61-60 lead. After Grace answered, McConnell buried another three with 4:51 remaining to put Cumberlands back in front 68-66.
 
Grace responded with a decisive run late. The Lancers scored on consecutive possessions to take a 72-68 lead with under four minutes remaining and extended the margin to six with just over a minute to play. Duke converted free throws in the final minute to cut the deficit to two possessions, but Grace sealed the game at the free-throw line to secure the 82-74 victory.
 
Cumberlands shot 37.3 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from three while converting 16-of-21 from the free-throw line. Grace shot 60.4 percent from the field and scored 62 points in the paint in the win. GC also out-rebounded the Pats 43-27.
 
This concludes the Patriots 2025-26 season that saw them win their third-consecutive NAIA National Tournament First & Second Round Championship, making the trip to Kansas City once again. They graduate four seniors including All-Conference honorees Andrew McConnell and Kyle Duke. Four-year player Brady Bell will also graduate alongside Anthony Harris.
 
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