WALESKA, Ga. – It was a pair of big runs from Life University that helped carry the Running Eagles in their 82-68 defeat of Campbellsville men's basketball Thursday night.
A 14-0 run in the first half and a 16-4 run to close the game saw the Tigers face their first double-digit deficits of the season at Reinhardt University's James and Sis Brown Athletic Center.
The 14-0 run put the Running Eagles up 34-17 with around 6:50 in the first half but CU was able to muster their own 15-4 run to cut the lead to eight at 40-32 at the halftime break.
The 16-4 run for LU was crucial, as the Tigers had cut the lead to 66-64 after a
Stephaun Adams three-pointer with 7:08 left in the game. The run was punctuated by a deep three-pointer from Evan Milligan to put Life up nine at 75-66.
Milligan was money for Life as he led all scorers with 24 points in the game and led his team with nine rebounds. He wan an efficient 9-for-15 (60%) from the field, 2-for-4 (50%) from three and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Running Eagles forced Campbellsville to take contested outside shots by double-teaming
Andrew Smith in the post, which also created some of the 14 CU turnovers. Life was able to take advantage of the turnovers by scoring 17 points off turnovers compared to CU only getting five.
The combined total of 43 points from the starting guard combination of Adams,
Jacob King and
Hagen Tyler wasn't enough for the Tigers as the rest of the team scored only 15 points between three players.
Tyler recorded his second-straight 20-point game with exactly 20 on the night on 7-for-16 (43.7%) shooting from the field. With those 20 points, he moved into fifth place in points all-time in Campbellsville men's basketball history with a total now of 1,731.
The Tigers will need to put this loss behind them quickly as they will face their second-straight opponent receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll in the University of the Cumberlands. The Patriots will be coming off their first win in Mid-South Conference play as they beat Georgetown by 14 points tonight.
