BLUEFIELD, Va. – Campbellsville Tiger basketball was held to its lowest point total of the season, losing 54-45 at Bluefield College on Saturday to close the regular season. The loss drops the Tigers to a tie for fifth-place in the Mid-South Conference, and CU will enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed.

The Tigers struggled to find their groove early, scoring only 11 points in the first half - the lowest first half total of the season and one of the lowest in program history.

"It was a complete no show from our team today," said CU Head Coach Keith Adkins. "We caught them off guard with a couple of traps and defensive changes but they adjusted and dominated the game. Yeah, losing is disappointing but the way we lost and acted was unacceptable."

CU trailed in the opening three minutes until Miles Rice hit the lone 3-pointer in the first half with 16:55 on the clock.

Campbellsville went frigid from the field, though. After Eric Gaines was fouled on a dunk attempt, Gaines checked out and DeMarcus Page made both free throws. With those two free throws at the 12:19 mark, it was the last time the Tigers would score a point for 11-plus minutes.

Quin Richardson ended the scoreless skid and made a free throw with 40 seconds remaining in the half, but the Tigers still did not hit a field goal in the final 12:55 of the half.

CU ended the first half only shooting 16 percent, (4-of-25). Although, Bluefield finished hitting more shots, the Rams weren't much better only shooting 37.5 percent (9-for-24).

Andrew Wilson, Kyle Grisby, and Kearsten Marion all hit one 3-pointer compared to only one from CU's Rice.

"We didn't have a lot of focus tonight and did not respond to adversity like a team needs too," said Adkins. "We didn't have anyone step up in the second half and make shots. A'Darius Pegues was the only guy on the floor trying to stay positive and cheer his team on but no one else responded."

The coaching staff was as positive as we could be at the half. We had to look at each other and be honest with the efforts the team was giving. From the staff on down, we weren't getting it done. So I told them we need to react to adversity better and someone needs to step up and make a few shots."

The Tigers responded to their leader's halftime speech and came out a little better in the opening minutes.

Campbellsville finally ended the no field goal skid in the second half with 18:44 remaining in the game on an Elliott Young layup. CU went a total 14:09 minutes without a bucket.

Pegues started to make his run in the second half. During a five minute stretch, Pegues dominated the post. He finished with nine points but got the Tigers back on the right note to make a run.

The Tigers came played with a little more effort on the glass than Bluefield in the opening seven minutes. Campbellsville and the Rams entered the second stanza with 17 rebounds apiece but CU hit the boards on the offensive end and gave itself opportunity after opportunity.

The Tigers used the second chance opportunites to cut the deficit to two points, 40-38, after a Darius Clement jumper with 6:58 remaining.

Josh Nesbit hit a jumper to end a 4:14 scoreless skid for Bluefield and extend the lead back to four points, 42-38, but Clement was fouled and hit both free throws to pull back within two points, 42-40.

That was the closest the Tigers got the rest of the afternoon, as they hit a cold streak once again.

Bluefield ended the game on a 12-5 run. Wilson and Alex Lubsey both hit two free throws and Nesbit hit two jumpers to push the lead back to nine points, 49-40. Campbellsville ended the skid on a 3-pointer by Young at the 1:12 mark. The Tigers went 3:50 without a point in the final five minutes.

Campbellsville finishes the regular season 14-14 overall and 9-9 in the MSC. The Tigers will play in the MSC Tournament starting Thursday, March 6, meeting University of the Cumberlands in the last game of the quarterfinals at 8 p.m. CT/9 p.m. ET.

Games will played in Lebanon, Tenn. on the campus of Cumberland University. You can follow CU Basketball in the MSC Central Page, HERE.

The tournament will begin with top seed University of Pikeville meeting No. 8 seed Lindsey Wilson College at 2 p.m. CT Thursday, followed by No. 4 St. Catharine vs. No. 5 Rio Grande at 4 p.m. CT. The winners of the two games will meet in the semifinals Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m. CT. The third quarterfinal game Thursday will feature second-seed Georgetown College and seventh-seed Bluefield at 6 p.m. CT. The winner will meet the winner of Campbellsville and Cumberlands in the semifinals Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

The MSC Championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. CT. The winner of the MSC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships. Pikeville already has an automatic bid for winning the MSC regular season. If UPike reaches the MSC final, its opponent will receive the second MSC automatic bid.

To follow Tiger Basketball behind the scenes, check them out on Twitter- @CUTigerHoops and @CvilleTigers.