FRANKFORT, Ky. — Campbellsville University knocked down 13 3-pointers and ended seventh seed St. Catharine College's season, 71-50, in the first round of the Mid-South Conference Tournament.

BOX SCORE

The Tigers led by two points, 27-25, at half and came out of the intermission roaring with a 27-5 run. Campbellsville held St. Catharine to seven points in the first 11-plus minutes of the second half and lit a flame to the nets from beyond the arc.

Elliott Young drained his fifth 3-pointer and CU scored eight-straight points to take its first double-digit lead at 35-25. Miles Rice joined in on the action with CU's third-straight 3 and put the Tigers up, 38-28. It was just the start of eight triples for Campbellsville in the second half.

D'Von Campbell and Rice combined to hit three more 3s and before St. Catharine knew it, they were looking at a 20-point deficit, 52-32, with 8:37 remaining in regulation.

"I expected a slow start in the first post-season game," said MSC Coach of the Year Keith Adkins. "But then we really settled into a nice groove and did so on the defensive side."

CU forced nine second-half turnovers and 17 overall, scoring 16 points off those St. Catharine mishaps.

Campbellsville scored 44 points in the second half and held St. Catharine to only 25 in each. CU shot just 20-of-55 (36.3 percent) from the floor but 13 of those came from behind the arc. The Tigers hit 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from deep and have hit 39 triples in their previous three games.

"Elliott Young comes out of the second half and bangs two-straight 3s and that was huge," said Adkins. "D'Von Campbell hit his second second-half 3 and was fouled for a four-point play. Everything all of a sudden completely opened up and we rolled from there.

"But one thing that was good to see was Miles Rice stepping up and hitting two 3s. He is a great basketball player and a big part of what we do, so it was great to see him get a little confidence because we will need him down the stretch."

It all started with Young and Robinson's two 3s in the first half but the Tigers were struggling to get anything going outside of that. Campbellsville received a lift from an unfamiliar face, Darius Clement, who has missed the previous three weeks with a hand injury. He was inserted into the lineup and drilled his first shot – a 3 from the top of the key starting a 13-2 run.

"Going into the game I didn't know he could play," said Adkins. "I talked to athletic trainer Derek Port and he said he was free to play and Darius wanted to play. We let St. Catharine back into the game a little bit and needed a lift from our senior leadership. Everything seemed to be a little smoother while Darius is in the game and with him hitting that first 3, it really helped him not worry about his hand and get back to the old Darius."

St. Catharine had major foul trouble in the first half with Khalil Murphy and Emory Bennett both picking up three fouls. SCC's Nick Porter also had two fouls in the first 20 minutes. The Patriots were missing leading scorer Ben Vozzola, who averaged just under 16 points in the regular season.

The Patriots starting five struggled overall combining for 13 points. The SCC bench scored the remaining 37 with Brandon Bobb Jones leading the way with 20. Lorenzo Dewberry pitched in with 10.

Campbellsville's bench scored 24 points, led by Robinson's 16. Campbell (12) and Rice (10) were the other Tigers to finish in double figures.

The familiar faces usually racking up the stat sheet may not have scored much but made differences in other ways. First-team All-MSC Damontre Harris, who averaged a double-double with 11.7 points and 10 rebounds a game in the regular season, finished with 15 boards and five points. Also, Eric Gaines another First-Team All-MSC member finished with two points but grabbed eight rebounds.

"Teams are going to take away our top offensive threats," said Adkins. "But we have to make shots when we are open and we did that tonight."

The Tigers will play the winner of the three-six seed game between Georgetown College and Life University. The two teams will meet tomorrow, Saturday, March 7 at 8 p.m. EST in the Frankfort Convention Center. You can follow the game live on 88.7 The Tiger in Campbellsville and also watch live video – http://www.mid-southconference.org/SIDHelp/watch.php.

You can also follow Campbellsville athletics on Twitter - @CvilleTigers and Facebook - Campbellsville Tigers.