CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Saturday afternoon, the Tiger basketball team will trek down to Bowling Green seeking to continue their hot play into the quarterfinals of the Mid-South Conference basketball tournament.
 
Campbellsville (18-12, 8-8 MSC), coming off back-to-back wins over the conference's top two teams, will match up with the Bears of Shawnee State (20-10, 9-7) at 4 p.m. ET on March 7^th at Bowling Green High School.
 
Matt Payton will be live from Bowling Green High School  for the play-by-play call of the action as fans can listen live locally in Campbellsville on WLCU-FM 88.7 The Tiger as well as fans anywhere being able to listen online at www.campbellsvilletigers.com/watch.
 
MSC TOURNEY HISTORY

• The Tigers enter the tournament with the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament as they will look to win their third Mid-South Conference title in program history.
• Campbellsville last won the conference tournament in 2015 as Keith Adkins led the Tigers to a 24-8 record on the year for MSC Regular Season and Tournament Champions.
• Since taking over the program in 2016, Coach Vernon has led CU to a 3-3 record in the tournament with each win coming over teams ranked in the NAIA's top 25.
• Last season, the Tigers opened up with am 88-87 win over the No. 25 University of the Cumberlands behind a 33-point outing from Stephaun Adams and 22 points from Andrew Smith.
• Campbellsville fell in the semifinal round after going toe for toe with the No. 3 Tigers of Georgetown.

 
SERIES FACTS

• In 27 meetings between the two programs, Campbellsville leads the overall series 16-11.
• However, Shawnee State has gotten the better of Campbellsville in both their meetings this season.
• As the Tigers visited the No. 22 Bears on February 6^th, a career-high 19 from De'Undra Singleton was not enough as CU was able to force overtime but fell 73-71.
• CU and SSU have met twice in the MSC Tournament as the Tigers proved victorious in both 2016 and 2013.

 
SCOUTING THE BEARS

• Shawnee State enters the Mid-South Conference tournament as the No. 4 seed and in the receiving votes category of the NAIA's poll.
• Boasting a 20-10 record, the Bears have won three of their last four games.
• Shawnee State has provided one of the top defenses in the country behind the huge presence of EJ Onu in the paint.
• Onu leading the NAIA in blocks per game (5.53) has aided the Bears to the top spot in team blocks per game (6.93), opponent field goal percentage (35.2%), as well as top five rankings in rebounds per game (44.87), opponent scoring per game (64.07), and defensive rebounds per game (31.33).
• Offensively, much of the production has come from Kyree Elder, who averaging 18.54 points per game, ranks second in the Mid-South Conference.

 
MAJOR UPSETS FOR HUGE MOMENTUM

• In the Tiger's last two contests, they knocked off the NAIA's top team for the first time in school history, dropping Georgetown, 94-92, and then following with a 70-65 win over No. 13 University of the Cumberlands.
• Campbellsville used massive games from Taiveyhon Mason and Richie Mitchell who each recorded career highs totaling 63 points combined.
• CU was able to shoot 52.24% from the field and 60.87% from behind the arc in route overtake the No. 1 Georgetown.
• In the matchup with the Cumberlands, Mitchell followed his outing with 7-16 shooting for 22 points.
• Campbellsville held the Patriots to 35.9% shooting to limit the Patriots to their second lowest scoring total of the season in route to the upset.

DEFENSE SPARKS THE TIGERS

• CU has shown they are one of the NAIA's top defensive programs ranking in the top 20 in turnover margin (3.16), opponent ppg (68.60), and opponent fg% (0.413).
• The ability to limit opponent opportunities and create their own has become the marker for CU, as they currently boast a 15-1 record when shooting better than their opponent. 

TIGER CLAWZ

• The Tigers have hit a 3-pointer in 547-straight games dating back to the beginning of the 2003-04 season on Dakstats. 
• Taiveyhon Mason ranks 13th in the NAIA in steals with 59 and No. 21 with 1.97 steals per game.
• Mason is 0.9 rebounds away to lead CU in these per game categories - points, assists, steals, and rebounds.
• Through conference play, Richie Mitchell leads the team in points per game (14.5).

 
UPCOMING STRETCH

• With a win, Campbellsville will advance to the semifinal round where they will play the winner of Georgetown College and the opening game winner between Cumberland and Life.
• This game will start at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 8^th at Bowling Green High School.