Tiger basketball put on a show for its home crowd Saturday, as No. 14 Campbellsville University handed the University of Rio Grande its eighth-straight loss, 88-72.

The CU student body got their first look at mid-season addition JaVaughn Espritt, as he slammed down a dunk early in the game to bring the fans to their feet. Nestor Colmenares and Joe Robinson joined the dunk showcase later in the game. While the dunks were getting the students into the game, it was the 3-point shooting by the Tigers that made the first half.

"I'm happy to see those shots begin to fall again. I'm really happy for Shawn Savage. He knocked down a couple of shots and got his confidence and swagger back," CU head coach Keith Adkins said.

Savage, the Tigers leading 3-point shooter, hit three 3-pointers in the first half after connecting on only 3-of-21 from beyond the arc the previous five games. Caleb Harris and T.J. Bishop also each hit three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, as CU drained 10 of its 20 attempts.

Offensively, CU was riding the momentum of Thursday night's win at Lindsey Wilson. After closing the game with a 60 percent performance in the second half Thursday, the Tigers shot 55.6 percent in the first half Saturday. 

"I was very pleased with our first half. They played us in a zone and double teamed Nestor. Every time a team does that, somebody's got to step up. Everybody stepped up today in the first half," Adkins said.

However, CU struggled to maintain its intensity in the second half, shooting only 38 percent and letting a once 32-point lead slip to 16 points.  Over the final 11 minutes, Rio out scored Campbellsville 30-16. P.J. Rase scored 11 points in that span to lead the rally and finish with 16 points.

"I wasn't pleased at all with how we finished the last 10 minutes," Adkins said. "I feel like we settled for a win instead of learning how to bury someone."

Colmenares led the Tigers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Bishop followed with 17 points and Espritt had 10.

Campbellsville (15-5, 3-1 MSC) travels to the University of the Cumberlands on Thursday for an 8 p.m. tip. The Tigers are currently in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Georgetown and Pikeville. The tie was with five teams, until Georgetown beat West Virginia Tech, 99-60, Saturday and Lindsey Wilson knocked off Cumberlands, 76-73.

"After two weeks of conference play, I'm happy to enter the third week tied at the top. The conference standings will start to shake out, and it won't get any easier going to Cumberlands this week," Adkins said.

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