CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Tiger basketball blew a 19-point first-half lead but held Wilberforce University to just one field goal in the final 6:00 to pull out a 76-70 victory Saturday evening.
The Tigers were unable to take advantage of getting to the free throw line 35 times, hitting just 57 percent for the day. But CU made them when it mattered. Tied at 59 with 6:34 left, Wilberforce's Michael Forrest drilled a 3-pointer but that was the final field goal until Demon Parker hit a 3 of his own with 1:51 left.
In that span of four-plus minutes the Bulldogs made just a trio of free throws and in the final 1:51 Wilberforce hit just two more. But it was Campbellsville that came through down the stretch. In the final 6:34, The Tigers ended the game on an 18-11 run including going 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Another turning point came at the 4:55 mark when offsetting technical fouls were called on Brandon Murphy and CU's Rod Lawrence. But Forrest was called for a technical as well, giving the Tigers a pair of free throws.
Hagen Tyler made the freebies to give CU a 66-64 lead – a lead it would never surrender.
Wilberforce cut the lead to two with 1:02 left but it was
Erik Kinney bringing the house down with a put-back slam dunk off a
Byron Dean miss.
Dean hit two free throws with 10 clicks left then
Jalen Coates picked up a steal with six seconds left to seal the win.
Tyler led the Tigers with 18 points on 5-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point land. Tyler also hit all four free throws.
Kinney earned his third-straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lawrence and Coates both finished with 13 points, while Coates was 7-of-11 from the free throw line.
In the first half, CU jumped out to an 11-0 lead before Wilberforce scored its first points with 17:36 on the clock. The Bulldogs did not score a field goal for three minutes to start.
The Tigers took their largest lead of 19 points with 4:24 left in the first half, leading 36-17. But the Bulldogs rallied to cut the halftime deficit to nine, 39-30. Wilberforce ended the half on a 13-3 run.
CU pushed the lead to 14, 47-33, with 18:11 left but the Bulldogs answered once more to make it a game. Wilberforce ended up going on a 26-11 run to take its first lead with 6:38 left on a jumper by Murphy. But it was Campbellsville down the stretch that stepped up and made free throws.
CU extends its record to 11-9 overall and will now host Maine Fort-Kent on Monday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. to conclude its home slate of non-conference games. Coverage starts at 7:15 p.m. ET on the Campbellsville University Sports Network.
