CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Darius Clement hadn't seen Campbellsville University beat Lindsey Wilson College in Powell Athletic Center since he was a senior in high school in 2011. Thursday, he put the Tigers on his shoulders in the second half to change the game and eventually clinch a 65-63 win at home over the Blue Raiders.

Lindsey Wilson College used an 8-5 run to start the second half to gain a 39-38 lead, but Clement responded with a personal 8-0 run to regain the lead, 43-39, and then dished out assists on CU's next two baskets. He finished with a lifetime-high 21 points as he sank 1-of-2 free throws in the final seconds to seal the win. He was 8-of-9 from the line in the game.

"Darius changed the game early in the second half. We came out with no energy and made poor decisions and were a little lethargic. We needed a boost and needed a spark, and the most experienced guy on our team gave it to us," said Keith Adkins' CU's head men's basketball coach. "We did some things against their defensive schemes that ended up working out, and yeah he shot it well, and made free throws, but the biggest thing is he made great decisions with the ball in his hands. He had some great finishes there in the second half when we needed that boost tonight."

Campbellsville's win is its second-straight against Mid-South Conference opponents as it opens the second half of MSC action. It's the first back-to-back MSC wins for CU (9-10, 4-6 MSC) this season.

"We needed a win. We've been in this spot several times this year, and sometimes we've come up with a good one and sometimes we've let one slip. We're fortunate to pull this one out with a great effort from a lot of guys tonight," said Adkins.

Campbellsville began to take control of the game in the first half on Clement's first of three 3-pointers in the game to take a 7-6 lead with 17:47 to play. A'Darius Pegues followed with a dunk and CU eventually worked its lead to as many as five points, 20-15, on yet another dunk by Pegues, this time a one-handed slam back off a missed 3 by Elliot Young, which brought the crowd to its feet.

LWC tied it twice in the final three minutes of the half, but Jordan Myers hit two free throws before the break to give the Tigers a two-point edge at halftime, 33-31.

After LWC's run to start the second half, and Clement's response, CU worked to maintain its lead until Keshaun Martin put the Blue Raiders back in front, 59-58, with 4:32 to play. The Tigers tied it twice at 59-59 and 61-61, but the big lead change, 64-61, came with just under a minute to play when CU senior Jordan Myers took an inbounds pass from Quin Richardson and drained a 3 from the corner with less than five seconds on the shot clock.

LWC's D'on Hall answered and Clement hit 1-of-2 from the line to keep CU in front by two with 14 seconds left. The Tigers received a big stop with two seconds to play when Demarcus Page guarded Tony Horne to a five-second count and turnover at the top of the key. Even though Mayfield, who led LWC with 17 points, managed to intercept Richardson's inbounds pass at midcourt, he could not get off a clean shot as time expired. Daronte' Clark followed Mayfield's lead with 14 points

While the win was the first at home over LWC for any current CU player, it was also the first high-pressure home win for four CU freshmen: Miles Rice, Richardson, Page and Young.

"This was their first big atmosphere game on campus. I thought they reacted well," said Adkins. "Demarcus Page had some big rebounds. Elliot Young was kind of up and down today, but when you look back, there weren't many mistakes. Miles Rice, I'm sure he'd like to knock down a couple of those open jumpers he had, but the good thing about this one is they got a taste of this atmosphere and we came out with a win. Hopefully they'll see how exciting this level of basketball can be."

Gaines followed Clement's lead with 11 points, while Pegues had nine and Page led the freshmen with eight points. Gaines also had nine rebounds. Tyrie Orosco led LWC with 10 boards and Anthony Crenshaw had nine.

The Tigers welcomed DeShawn Dockery back to the court for the first time at home since a December injury. He had two points and two assists in 10:38 played - his most minutes since Dec. 14 against Philander Smith and first points since Dec. 19 against West Virginia Tech. 
 
The win moves Campbellsville from a three-way tie for seventh in the MSC into a tie for sixth-place with Cumberland University (12-7, 4-6 MSC), which CU hosts Saturday. Tipoff is 4 p.m. in Powell Athletic Center. A win Saturday can move Campbellsville as high as fifth in the MSC and potentially only three games out of second place.

"We need to win our home games. We have Cumberland (Tenn.), Shawnee State, Rio Grande and Lindenwood-Belleville to finish. We have to get those and make sure we don't slip up at home here on out," said Adkins.

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