It took 33 minutes for Campbellsville University to take its first lead of the game Saturday, but once it did, the Tigers wouldn't give it back to St. Catharine College en route to a 67-64 road victory in Springfield, Ky.
T.J. Bishop hit a lay-up with just under seven minutes left to give CU a 51-49 lead. Bishop, who scored CU's first three points of the game, scored the rest of his game-leading 17 points in the second half.
While Bishop helped CU maintain his lead, it was a
Shawn Savage free throw with nine seconds left that gave the Tigers a three-point lead and distance for the win. The Patriots missed two 3-point shots in the closing seconds.
"It was a war. It was an absolute battle. I can't say enough about our guys. We didn't play that great. We made a lot of mistakes, but like I told the guys, 'Be very proud of what you just did. Don't be content, but the bottom line is we faced nothing by adversity from the tip.' The way our guys stuck together and made some plays, I'm very happy for our program and our team," CU head coach Keith Adkins said. "I don't know if we've gone against a more prepared team for us this year."
Campbellsville trailed by as many as 12 points, 25-13, in the first half, but Brett Crittenden cut the game to eight, 35-27, with a free throw before halftime.
Four minutes into the second half, St. Catharine was called for an intentional foul, giving the ball back to the Tigers after a pair of missed free throws by Nestor Colmenares. Bishop used the opportunity to hit his first 3-pointer of the half and cut the lead back under 10, 39-32. Bishop followed with six more points to the Patriots' two, cutting the lead to a basket, 41-38.
From there, Ja Vaughn Espritt went to work, scoring six of his 14 points in the game in the next three minutes to keep the Tigers within three points, 47-44. A second chance put back by Colmenares did the same until a 3-pointer from Jordan Benock with seven minutes left drew the Tigers and Patriots even, 49-49, for the first time since the opening tip.
"(Jordan's) a competitor," Adkins said. "This is something's that going to be very special for him if we can move forward and do some good things."
Moments after Bishop's go-ahead basket, St. Catharine tied the game, 55-55, on a pair of free throws by Johnson, but the Patriots would get no closer. Espritt answered with four more of his 10 second-half points to give CU a two-possession game, 59-55.
Colmenares, who had zero points when the two teams met Feb. 1, had 14 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out in the final minutes.
In the end, Campbellsville held its opponent to 64 points or less for the eighth-straight game and 20th time this season.
The win also marks the first time since 2001 that the Campbellsville men and women have swept at least one doubleheader over every MSC opponent in a single season.
Campbellsville (22-6, 10-2) holds a one-game lead over Georgetown Conference in the Mid-South Conference standings with two games to play. The Tigers host the University of the Cumberlands Thursday at 8 p.m. with a chance to clinch at least a share of their first official MSC regular season title. It will also be Senior Night to honor as CU honors Benock, Bishop and Colmenares in their final home game.
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