Campbellsville University's energy level is up and the Tigers' smiles were back Thursday night, as CU downed West Virginia Tech, 83-56, to move back into a first-place tie in the Mid-South Conference.

The Tigers dropped from the top spot Monday after losing at home by three points to St. Catharine College with pour shooting and ball control. Thursday was a much different story, as the Tigers impressed their fans at times with their ability to work the ball around the perimeter early.

"We answered the bell to say the least. I'm real happy with our energy level and our approach to this game," CU head coach Keith Adkins said. "I don't think we came out Monday night with any energy. I think we took it lightly, and I don't think we gave St. Catharine any respect. I thought we did a good job coming out with energy, and as long as we do that, we have a chance."

Campbellsville shot 56.7 percent in the first half, while holding the Golden Bears to 33 percent, but the key was the perimeter shooting. Clinton County native Justin Vitatoe, who earned a conference starting roll last month for his defense, hit three 3-pointers in the first 13 minutes of the game to help CU gain distance. Kansas native Brett Crittenden's 3-pointer with 10:45 left to play in the first half build CU's first three-possession lead, and the Tigers didn't look back en route to a 45-32 halftime and near 30-point win.

"Vitatoe came out and banged three threes in the first half and that gave us some cushion. Anything he gives us offensively is gravy," Adkins said. "We need him to be the best perimeter defender in the conference. I want that to be his focus."

Vitatoe's assignment for the night was the Golden Bear's leading 3-point shooter, Darryl Slack, who he held to one field goal.

The Golden Bears still managed to come close to their average of seven 3-pointers a game, with six, but they were scattered. The real struggle was inside the perimeter, where CU held Tech to 5-of-22 shooting in the second half. Two of those were dunks.

"Defensively we got back to being pretty good. We didn't do a great job rebounding in the first half, but we limited them to four second chances in the second half. We have to make sure we are great defensively and great at defensive rebounding. If we're those two things, once again, I feel pretty good about our chances," Adkins said.

The Tigers' fun really started to show in the second half as the Tigers put up a highlight reel with a two-handed power dunk by Nestor Colmenares, a finger roll with plenty of air time by Jordan Benock and a 3-point shoot out for T.J. Bishop and Shawn Savage. The two guards combined for 5-of-6 beyond the arc in the second period.

Bishop led the Tigers with five 3-pointers and 15 points, while Colmenares and Caleb Harris each had 13 points and Benock had 11.

The win returns CU (17-6, 5-2) into a three-way tie for the MSC lead with Pikeville (18-3, 5-2) and Georgetown (17-5, 5-2), which comes to town Saturday at 4 p.m.

"That's great, but at the same time we've just got to concentrate on each game. We can't worry about ratings and standings. Going into Saturday, we have to worry about Georgetown," Adkins said. "The longer we go, those things will take care of themselves as long as we take care of business on the floor."

CU fans are encouraged to wear maroon as they pack Powell Athletic Center on Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on local Comcast Channel 10 in Campbellsville and streamed online at CampbellsvilleTigers.com.


PHOTO GALLERY


BOX SCORE


SHORT BOX
West Virginia U. Inst of (12-10, 2-5 )
BEN SHANNON 1-1 0-0 2, ROI BUCHBINDER 1-6 2-4 4, ROBBY MARSHALL 1-8 4-4 6, RICKEY YOUNG 3-11 1-2 8, TERRALE CLARK 2-5 0-0 5, MATT ORCUTT 0-2 0-0 0, DAVID HENDERSON 0-1 0-0 0, ZACK THOMSEN 3-6 1-1 7, DARRYL SLACK 1-4 4-6 6, JOSH STRICKER 1-1 1-2 4, RUSSEL ALLEN 0-4 0-0 0, DEREK CLARK 0-1 0-0 0, NICHOLAS KJAERHOLT 5-8 1-2 14. Totals 18-58 14-21 56

Campbellsville University (17-6, 5-2 NAIA #9)
T.J. Bishop 5-7 0-0 15, Shawn Savage 3-6 0-0 9, Adrian Whelan 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Benock 4-8 2-2 11, Joe Robinson 0-2 0-0 0, Brett Crittenden 1-5 0-0 3, Jonas Bohm 1-5 1-5 3, Nestor Colmenares 5-5 3-6 13, Justin Vitatoe 3-4 0-1 9, Leon Hart 1-7 2-2 4, JaVaughn Espritt 1-5 1-2 3, Caleb Harris 6-8 0-0 13. Totals 30-63 9-18 83
 

SCORE BY PERIODS	1st	2nd	TOTAL
West Virginia U. Inst of	32	24	56
Campbellsville University	45	38	83

FG%: West Virginia U. Inst of .310, Campbellsville University .469. 3-pt FG:West Virginia U. Inst of 6-14 (BUCHBINDER 0-1, MARSHALL 0-1, YOUNG 1-3, CLARK 1-2, SLACK 0-2, STRICKER 1-1, KJAERHOLT 3-4), Campbellsville University 14-28 (Bishop 5-6, Savage 3-5, Whelan 0-1, Benock 1-4, Crittenden 1-5, Vitatoe 3-4, Harris 1-3). Rebounds: West Virginia U. Inst of 34 (YOUNG 7), Campbellsville University 47 (Colmenares 9). Fouls West Virginia U. Inst of 19, Campbellsville University 20. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: West Virginia U. Inst of 11 (MARSHALL 2, SLACK 2), Campbellsville University 19 (Hart 4). Steals: West Virginia U. Inst of 6 (SHANNON 1, BUCHBINDER 1, CLARK 1, HENDERSON 1, SLACK 1, KJAERHOLT 1), Campbellsville University 2 (Bohm 1, Colmenares 1). Blocked shots: West Virginia U. Inst of 4 (YOUNG 2), Campbellsville University 4 (Bohm 2). Turnovers: West Virginia U. Inst of 11, Campbellsville University 12. Attendance: 750.