Box Score CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – A late foul and missed free throw held the Campbellsville University Tigers just shy of victory Thursday night, as Shawnee State University held on for a 68-66 victory in Powell Athletic Center.
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Vernon Payne converted an and-one play with 36 seconds remaining to even the score, 66-66. Moments later, Justin Ennis appeared to have come up with a steal at mid-court but was whistled for a foul, placing Austin Vance at the free throw line with 7.6 seconds to play. The sophomore guard knocked down his only two free throw attempts of the night, giving Shawnee State a two-point advantage and one final possession for the Tigers.
Addison Smith attacked the basket in the final second and was fouled as time expired. The senior missed his first attempt, sealing the Bears' win, and the officials waved off the second attempt to end the game.
The loss completed a single-season sweep for Shawnee State over Campbellsville as the Bears (13-8, 9-4) took over third place in the Mid-South Conference standings before heading to No. 4 Lindsey Wilson College this coming Saturday.
Campbellsville started the game with a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes, helped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Payne and Justin Ennis. The duo led Campbellsville in scoring with 21 and 12 points, respectively, but their 3-point shooting cooled, hitting a combined 4-of-14 from the arc in the game. CU was 8-of-32 (.250) as a team.
CU maintained its eight-point lead through the 12 minute mark of the first half until Shawnee State went on a 10-0 run out of the first media timeout to take its first lead of the game, 20-18. The Bears led twice in the first half and tied it late, 30-30, before Bryton Taylor gave the Tigers a 32-30 halftime lead with an offensive put back in the final minute.
The Bears took the lead, 33-32, to open the second half on a 3-pointer by Trevor Banks, but Sean Scott answered with a 3 for Campbellsville. SSU regained its lead and stretched it to seven, 47-40, on a 12-5 run, only to spark an 8-0 Campbellsville run. Ennis hit a 3 to cap the run and give CU its last lead of the night, 48-47, with 10:16 to play.
Payne worked the score tied at 50, but another 3-pointer by Banks, who finished with 10 points in the game, sparked a 6-0 run for the Bears. SSU remained in front until Payne tied the game again in the final minute.
Tyler Morgan led SSU in scoring with 18 points and posted a double-double with 12 rebounds. Tyler Boyles followed with 15 points and Andrew Devlin had 13 for SSU.
Payne led the Tigers' on the boards with 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Despite Campbellsville shooting 44 percent from the floor in the second half and 75 percent from the fre throw line in the first half, CU finished the night with low shooting percentages: 37.3 from the floor, 25.0 from the arc and 63.6 from the charity stripe.
The loss keeps Campbellsville (12-9, 6-6 MSC) in sixth place in the conference standings, where it is guaranteed to remain through the weekend. The Tigers, currently two-games out of a tie for fourth-place, will return home Saturday, Feb. 2 to host the University of Rio Grande (7-15, 3-10 MSC) at 4 p.m. EST.