CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville shut down Lindsey Wilson in overtime Thursday night to roll away with a 78-69 win in front of a packed Powell Athletic Center.

The Tigers held the Blue Raiders to 0-for-7 from the field in the extra five minutes, and built a six point lead before allowing the first LWC free throw in OT.

"I told the guys, 'I don't want them to score. We've got to make a commitment on the defensive end. Forget about the offensive end, because we'll get enough points to win, but we don't let them score,'" CU head coach Keith Adkins said.

BOX SCORE

Eric Gaines scored the first four points of overtime and finished with 19 in the game. The Tigers connected on 7-of-9 free throw attempts down the stretch.

"Our guys did an incredible job. A Lindsey Wilson and Campbellsville men's basketball game is always ugly," Adkins said. "This win will serve us well going into the postseason, an overtime game with great atmosphere where we had to persevere and find a way to win."

Ugly it was. Campbellsville took a 7-0 lead out of the gate, capped by Elliott Young's second career dunk, but the Blue Raiders came charging back with a 13-4 run to take their first lead of the night.

Julian Edmonson, who led LWC with 21 points, tied the game with a 3, before D'on Hall, the reigning NAIA Player of the Week, gave the Blue Raiders a 13-11 lead.

It was the first of 13 ties and 10 lead changes in the game.

LWC built its largest lead of the first half, 25-20, on an Edmonson 3, but D'Von Campbell and Miles Rice combined for a 5-0 run to even the score for the sixth time in the first 20 minutes. Edmonson later hit two free throws to send LWC into the locker room up two, 27-25.

The second half wasn't much different, as the two MSC rivals battled their way to seven ties. The Tigers scored the first four points of the second half to go up two, 29-27, but didn't lead again until Eric Gaines made it 57-55 with 4:53 to play.

After trailing by six, 40-34, with 14 minutes to play, Campbellsville pulled within a point six times before knotting the score at 53. One of those times was a 3 by Rob Robinson, which brought the student section to its feet. They didn't sit down again.

By the time Gaines gave CU its lead, the entire east side of Powell Athletic Center was a standing sea of fans, roaring in cheers, dance moves and energy.

CU trailed by two with 33 seconds to play, when Campbell evened the score, 65-65, with 23 to play. Edmonson air balled a 3 as time expired to send the game into overtime. And the crowd's volume grew.

"Give the crowd a lot of credit. We didn't give them a whole lot to get excited about after 40 minutes, but they came through for us when we needed it," Adkins said.

The Blue Raiders finished the game with only seven turnovers in 45 minutes, but two of those came in overtime and one in the final seven minutes of regulation, which led to a game-tying basket by Campbell, 53-53.

Damontre Harris and Gaines each had two steals to led CU's defense, and Harris added four blocks to go along with his game-high 11 defensive rebounds. The senior post finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds for his 13^th double-double of the season.

Campbell led the Tigers with 22 points and six assists, while Darius Clements had 12.

Edmonson finished the game 8-of-20 shooting for LWC with 21 points, followed by Reco Lewis (14), Bryan Wallace (13) and Hall (10).

CU out-rebounded the Blue Raiders 52 to 36 in the win.

The win pulls No. 6 Campbellsville (21-3, 8-2 MSC) even with No. 5 Pikeville (21-2, 8-2 MSC) atop the Mid-South Conference standings, while Georgetown (20-3, 7-2) is a half game out. Both Pikeville and Georgetown had Thursday night off.

Campbellsville will remain home Saturday, Feb. 7 to host Cumberland University (8-16, 3-8 MSC) in a conference battle at 4 p.m. EST. Cumberland held off a late rally by St. Catharine College on the road late Thursday night for a 77-70 win. 

CU is partnering with Audience 1 Sports and Sports Reach to collect 6,000 shoes for the #SHOEperBowl. Donate new or gently used shoes and receive FREE admission into the game.