CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Another game, another win for Campbellsville University men's basketball, which knocked off No. 15 University of Rio Grande Thursday night, 83-80, in Powell Athletic Center. It is CU's second straight win over an NAIA Top 20 team and fifth in a row since Jan. 30.

"It's fun to watch these guys. We've gone so many months and games where we've died in the last minutes for whatever reason, it's fun to watch things turn around for us," said Keith Adkins, CU head coach. "That's why the season is so long, and hopefully we can turn it into something special."

Something special is already beginning to develop as the Tigers (13-10, 8-6 MSC) have won six of their last seven, all against Mid-South Conference opponents in the last four weeks, climbing from a tie for last in the MSC to a tie for fourth-place, and only two games out of second.

CU has done so at the steady hands of juniors Darius Clement and Eric Gaines, along with a trio of seniors and a cast of freshmen.

Clement scored crucial points late to clinch the wins over Lindsey Wilson, University of the Cumberlands and then-No. 13 Georgetown College, took over the game once again for the Tigers Thursday night.

The point guard from Bowling Green, Ky., scored 21 of his career-high 23 points in the final seven minutes of play for his third 20-point performance in five games.

Gaines followed Clement's lead with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double in MSC action. A'Darius Pegues and Miles Rice chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Tigers.

Trailing 68-54 with 7:08 to play, Clement hit a pair of free throws, moments later he hit two more after a pivotal technical foul was called against Rio Grande's Jalen Harris. The four charity shots sparked a 16-0 run to erase CU's 14-point deficit. Clement scored 13 of the 16, the other a 3 by Jordan Myers, as CU took a 70-68 lead with 3:31 remaining.

"He just keeps going," Adkins said of Clement. "Tonight, I was hard on him. He's put himself in a position where we expect big things of him, and I expect him to play a certain way … He wasn't great early in the game, but every time we walk out there and need a big bucket or big play, he comes up with it. It's fun to watch his transformation from a role player into a guy we need to step up and be big for us."

Rio was scoreless from the 7:24 mark to the 3:15 mark in the second half after previously using a 13-4 run to build its lead to double digits after CU closed within a basket, 51-49.

Josh Reagen put an end to the Tigers' run with an up and under move to tie the game at 70 with just over three minutes to play. Clement kept pouring it on, similar to Reagan in the first half.

Clement hit a 3, and then Travis Elliot popped one from the corner for Rio. Clement hit two free throws, and then D.D. Joiner hit two freebies on the other end to tie it at 75, so Clement hit a second-chance jumper and another free throw to put CU back up by three, 78-75. He followed with 3-for-5 shooting from the line, while Miles Rice chipped in two more to hold off Reagan's RedStorm.

Reagan, who CU struggled to stop all night, finished with 31 points and nine rebounds. He shot 8-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line in the first half, but cooled to 5-of-8 from the field and 1-for-4 at the line in the final 20 minutes.

"We didn't play well for a long stretch in the second half, but I think Rio had more to do with that than anything. They're just hard to play against. We don't have great match ups defending them, and when we can't play our zone. They took advantage of it and got that big lead, and give our guys credit for clawing back," Adkins said.

CU opened the game up 6-0, but Reagan tied the game with his only 3-pointer of the game and then went on to give the RedStorm its first lead, 12-10, on a fast-break dunk.

The game was tied twice more before DeShawn Dockery hit a basket and 3 on back-to-back possessions to regain CU's lead, 21-19. Reagan tied it at 21-21 to start an 8-0 run to push Rio ahead, 27-21.

Myers and Rice each hit 3s to help pull CU back within two points, 29-27, and Pegues kept CU close in the post, trailing by one, 32-31, with 5:29 to play in the half.

Phillip Hertz, who finished the game with 14 points, scored the next six for Rio to take a five-point lead, 38-33, but Quin Richardson and Gaines each hit baskets to pull CU back within one, 38-37. Gaines' basket came off Reagan's first shot of the game, but the junior forward hit his next one to give Rio a 3-point lead, 40-37, with 22 seconds left in the half.

Richardson missed a 3-point try with three seconds left, but Reagan bumped him on the shot. A lane violation against Rio canceled out Richardson's first free throw miss, and he went on to knock down three straight to tie the game, 40-40, at halftime.

Reagan led all players at halftime with 19 points.

"We played terrible and just weren't very good in the first 20 minutes. We were very fortunate to have a tie game at 40-40. It was just a sloppy game, to be even, that was a minor miracle for us to be even," Adkins said.

Rio and CU traded runs of 9-0 and 7-0, respectively, early in the second half before the RedStorm built its 14-point lead.

Campbellsville University will return home to Powell Athletic Center on Saturday, Feb. 15 for its final home Mid-South Conference game at 4 p.m. EST against Shawnee State University. The Tigers' will close their home schedule on Monday, Feb. 24 for Senior Night against Lindenwood University-Belleville. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.