Box Score CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - A sluggish offensive start was corrected Saturday with 43 bench points by the Tigers as Campbellsville University put together a 76-40 win over University of Virginia's College at Wise in Mid-South Conference play. The win is the Tigers' fifth-straight in MSC action and pulls CU (18-8, 7-6 MSC) within two games of first-place in the conference.

Campbellsville's defense turned up the pressure Saturday, as it held the Cavaliers to 31.3 percent from the floor and 9.1 percent from 3-point range. The Tigers forced 14 turnovers and controlled the UVA-Wise backboard with 32 defensive rebounds to the Cavs' five offensive boards.

"There's some advantage to having a really good team as a travel partner (in the MSC). I think this UVA-Wise was completely worn out. They had a high-tempo, fast-paced (St. Catharine College) team Thursday night," said Keith Adkins, CU head coach. "I think this Virginia-Wise team is the most improved in the Mid-South Conference, and I wouldn't want to play them come tournament time."

One example of Adkins' analysis is UVA-Wise leading scorer Travis Berry, who was held to a season-low three points only two days after unloading a career-high 38 points at St. Catharine.

Saturday began as a slow afternoon for both teams, shooting only 10 percent each in the first seven minutes of play. Bryton Taylor's basket five minutes into the game was the first field goal for either team.

Around the 12 minute mark in the opening half, the Tigers began to heat up, following the lead of redshirt sophomore Kevin Bobson, who sank back-to-back 3s for his first points of the day. The 3s helped turn a once 3-1 ballgame into a 9-3 lead for the Tigers. CU's lead began to grow as the Tiger starters re-entered the game and picked up what the bench players started, going into halftime up 29-14.

While Campbellsville saw a near 180 turnaround in its offensive performance after the opening seven minutes, Wise continued to struggle to find a shot. Campbellsville shot 54.3 percent in the second half, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range to break the game open.

Cedric Henderson, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, turned a defensive rebound into two points to give CU its first 20-point lead of the night, 38-18. Bobson later stretched the lead into the 30s, 53-22, with another 3-pointer. He finished the game with a career-high 20 points to lead all players.

"As good as he was today, he still has to figure it out, said Adkins of Bobson. "Kevin has to figure out how good he can be. That offensive show today is as good as he could be every night out there."
 

Following Bobson and Henderson, four Tiger layers scored six points. Rilwan Bakare was the most exciting of the four to watch, throwing down two dunks in the second half - his first dunks at home in Powell Athletic Center.

Every CU player saw at least seven minutes of action Saturday with 10 of the 12 players play more than 12 minutes each.

Josh Jordan led UVA-Wise with 15 points, while Darius Smith had 10 points.

Campbellsville (18-8, 7-6 MSC) is above .500 in the Mid-South Conference standings for the first time since Nov. 19. CU sits alone in fifth-place in the MSC, but only two games out of first, with three conference road games remaining at St. Catharine College (Feb. 18), Lindsey Wilson College (Feb. 23) and University of the Cumberlands (Feb .25).

"We've put ourselves in a position to at last make a run in the conference standings. The good thing is all three of the teams left to play are above us. We know what is in front of us and we control our own destiny," Adkins said. "After the hole we dug ourselves in, that's about all we could ask."

Georgetown College (9-4), Lindsey Wilson (8-4), St. Catharine (8-5) and Cumberlands (7-5) sit above Campbellsville in the conference.

The Tigers will close out their home schedule Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. EST as they host No. 10 Mountain State University in non-conference action for Senior Night.


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