Men's Basketball 1/5/2020 3:40:00 PM CU Athletics

Tigers seek to continue hot play as they travel to Life University on Monday

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Only three days after picking up their first Mid-South Conference win, Campbellsville will return to action as they travel to Marietta, Georgia to meet the Running Eagles of Life University.

As both teams enter the matchup picking their first win of the twenties, it will be a matchup of the NAIA's 11th ranked scoring offense in CU versus the country's 11th ranked scoring defense of Life. In a hot stretch of play, the Tigers will seek to extend their longest winning streak of the season before returning to home for a four game home-stand. Outscoring teams by 17 points per game in their last four ball games, Campbellsville wants to keep the ball rolling, with win number two inside MSC play.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Matt Payton will be on the call for the game on 88.7 The Tiger and www.CampbellsvilleTigers.com/watch, with pregame starting at 7:45 p.m. ET.

SERIES FACTS

Monday will mark the 17th meeting between the Tigers and the Running Eagles of Life.
After splitting the series a year ago, CU leads Life in their meetings with a 9-7 record, going 3-3 when visiting Marietta.
In last season's win over the Running Eagles, the Tigers, had four scorers in double digits, led by 29 points from Stephaun Adams to lead them to an 83-74 win.
Playing a Reinhardt University for their road game with Life, 14-0 and 16-4 runs allowed the Running Eagles to capture an 82-68 win.
In a series that has battled back and forth, each team has boasted four game win streaks and the schools are 5-5 in their last 10 meetings.

SCOUTING LIFE

On the season, Life University holds a 10-6 record, going 1-2 inside MSC play.
The Running Eagles were ranked 18th in the NAIA's first top 25 poll of the season. Since, they have fallen into the receiving votes category where they picked up 40 voting points.
With a defensive minded approach, Life only gives up 66.56 ppg, ranking them 11th in the NAIA.
The Running Eagles are also ranked in the top 25 in the defensive categories of total blocks (49), 3-pt fg% (0.31) and fg% (0.405).
Individually, Antwan Maxwell has been a force for the Running Eagles, narrowly missing averaging a double-double with 15.8 ppg and 9.87 rebounds per game.
Maxwell ranks in the NAIA's top 10 in defensive rebounds per game (8.27), total rebounds (148), blocks (30), blocks per game (2.0), and total rebounds per game (9.87).
Offensively, however, Life has struggled to find the basket, only scoring 67.75 ppg, nearly 12 points less than Campbellsville, which ranks them last in the Mid-South Conference.
These struggles have come by virtue of ranking last in the MSC in field goal percentage (41.3%) and 3-pt field goal percentage (29.9%).
However, Life enters the matchup previous defeating Lindsey Wilson College, 72-57.
The Running Eagles had also matched up against common Tiger opponents, Carver and two games with Dalton State, where they hold a 1-2 record.

MASON AND MITCHELL HEATING UP

As the Tigers are in the midst of a four game winning streak, Taiveyhon Mason and Richie Mitchell have become staples for the Tiger offense.
In the streak, Mason has led the way scoring, averaging 21.75 points per game, including a career-high 25 points against Miami-Hamilton.
Throughout this span, Mason has shot 35-59 from the field for a 59% clip.
Mason's hot play led him to his first MSC Player of the Week honor on Jan. 1st.
Mitchell, on the other hand began his hot play against Lindsey Wilson, as he dropped a career high 16 points.
He followed that game with another career mark of 18 points against Simmons College.
After an injury in the matchup with Miami-Hamilton limited his numbers to 12 points and forcing him to miss the Carver College game, Mitchell returned against Cumberland for his first career start and another 16 point outing.
In his four game spark, Mitchell has averaged a 57.5% shooting clip.

KANGNI MAKES HIS DEBUT

After battling injuries during his first year and a half as a Tiger, Kevin Kangni was able to suit up for Campbellsville in the Cumberland Classic.
With his official debut coming against Miami (Hamilton), Kangni was able to notch his mark into the stat column the following day as he went 2-3 from deep to record six points.
As Campbellsville has struggled from deep so far this year, the Tigers will look to utilize Kangni to spread the floor and attach from outside the arc.

TIGER CLAWZ

The Tigers have hit a 3-pointer in 532-straight games dating back to the beginning of the 2003-04 season on Dakstats.
The first half has been the Tigers' friend this season, outscoring opponents 600-487. The second half has been their nemesis only outscoring opponents, 665-582.
Campbellsville has found their success when defense plays strong, as they are 11-2 when holding opponents to under 50% shooting and 10-1 when opponents shoot less than 35% from three.
Taiveyhon Mason ranks 14th in the NAIA in steals with 29 and No. 31 with 1.93 steals per game.
Mason is 1.2 rebounds per game categories - points, assists, steals, and rebounds.

UPCOMING STRETCH

Following their visit to Life, the Tigers will return home for a stretch of four consecutive games in Powell.
Throughout this string of games, the Tigers will meet the NAIA's fourth ranked Pikeville Bears and first ranked Georgetown Tigers.
Campbellsville will come back to the Powell Athletic Center on Thursday, Jan. 9th, as Pikeville will be visiting at 8 p.m. ET.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#14 Stephaun Adams: G; 6' 1"; Senior; Virgin Islands

#1 Kevin Kangni: G; 6' 3"; Graduate Student; Porto-Novo, Benin

#14 Taiveyhon Mason: G; 5' 10"; Junior; Hopkinsville, Ky.

#23 Richie Mitchell: G; 6' 1"; Senior; Michigan City, Ind.

Players Mentioned

#14 Stephaun Adams
: 6' 1"; Senior; Virgin Islands
: G

#1 Kevin Kangni
: 6' 3"; Graduate Student; Porto-Novo, Benin
: G

#14 Taiveyhon Mason
: 5' 10"; Junior; Hopkinsville, Ky.
: G

#23 Richie Mitchell
: 6' 1"; Senior; Michigan City, Ind.
: G