LEBANON, Tenn. – Campbellsville Tiger Basketball beat University of the Cumberlands twice in the regular season but the Patriots sought revenge and won when it mattered in the first round of the Mid-South Conference Tournament, 68-60.

Taylor Glover sparked the Patriots in the second half, hitting two 3-pointers leading to a 20-5 run and flipped a Campbellsville 13-point first half lead to take a 13-point lead themselves, with 4:09 left in the game.

Miles Rice did his part in the final 4:09, as the freshman hit back-to-back 3-pointers to whittle the lead down to six points with 2:57 left. Campbellsville was able to cut the lead down to six points again in the final minute after DeShawn Dockery stole an inbounds pass and hit two free throws after being fouled.

Cumberlands did not hit a field goal in the final 4:09 but hit 10 straight free throws, with eight coming in the final minute, to dash the hopes of a Campbellsville comeback.

"It was a total flip-flop from the first and second half," said CU head coach Keith Adkins. "We couldn't find a basket in the second half, and it looked a lot like the Bluefield game. I feel bad for the three seniors because they have given so much to this program the past season."

It was a tale of two halves for Campbellsville, though, as the Tigers started out the first half hot. CU shot nearly 52 percent from the floor but only shot 34.6 percent in the second.

A'Darius Pegues started the game with a drop step two-handed slam dunk and ended the first half with 10 points. Cumberlands didn't have an answer for the Tigers' big man in the paint, and CU took advantage.

The freshman stepped up for Campbellsville in the opening frame, as Elliott Young and DeMarcus Page both hit triples. Young also got a hand on three loose ball rebounds, giving the Tigers another chance and they capitalized each time.

Junior Darius Clement, who hit a big shot in Williamsburg to lead Campbellsville to victory on Feb. 6, gave the Tigers their largest lead of 13 points, 26-13, on a driving layup with 8:07 left in the first half.

But those were Clement's only two points of the game as he struggled from the floor only hitting one of his seven shots. 

Cumberlands answered though and cut the lead to five points after the Tigers went cold and did not score in the final 3:03.

"We started out and took the ball to Cumberlands," said Adkins. "We were the aggressor, and that's why we took the double-figure lead and went into the break leading. We pressured the ball on defense, and it led to our offense. A'Darius played well in the first half and Cumberlands did not have an answer. But whatever happened in the 15-minute intermission killed our momentum, and we didn't get it."

Pegues did not get the touches in the paint in the second half and CU started to struggle. The Tigers settled for jumpers once the Patriots heated up and Campbellsville got into a shooting matchup, only hitting 3-of-10 from 3-point land compared to Cumberlands' 5-for-11 in the second half.

Pegues only scored two points in the second half and finished with 12 points.
 

Campbellsville dropped to 14-15 overall on the season after winning seven straight conference games but lost the momentum in mid-February, losing its final five down the stretch.

"We won seven of eight straight games down the stretch but lost our final five," said Adkins. "When you are coming into a tournament, you need to have momentum. That's why I thought the Bluefield game was really important in our run in the tournament. We went there and played awful, and we definitely did not have it at the end of the season."

It was the final games for CU seniors, DeShawn Dockery, Jordan Myers and A'Darius Pegues. The trio has had its ups and downs this season but all in all it was positive.

"I wish I could have had AD (A'Darius) and Doc (Dockery) for more than one season," said Adkins. "These guys are class acts, and they play with a lot of heart."

"It's tough to end like this, and the last game of your career is a game where you don't play well and lose," said Adkins. "It's going to sting for awhile, but I hope those guys look back at their careers and see the positives out of it all. I hope A'Darius and DeShawn look back and decide that coming to Campbellsville was a great move for them.

"Jordan Myers has been a special kid and student-athlete. He has gone on many missions trips and represented CU as good as anyone. He was a good player for us the last three seasons but they will all look back and say, 'it was a pretty good experience for us.'"

That brings a close to the 2013-2014 season, as the Tigers finish 14-15 overall and 9-9 in the MSC in regular season.