CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – For the second time this season, the Campbellsville University men's basketball team snaped a losing streak in Mid-South Conference play with a win over University of the Cumberlands as the Tigers earned a 69-65 win over the Patriots on Saturday afternoon in the Powell Athletic Center.
It was a game that the Tigers essentially led throughout with the only leads for Cumberlands being one-point margins once in the first half and two more times in the second half.
After building a seven-point lead a couple of times, the Tigers saw UC come back to tie the game at 18-18 with 5:38 remaining in the first half. Campbellsville was able to finish the half on an 11-3 run capped off by an
Alston Davis buzzer beating three pointer to make it a 29-21 CU lead at halftime as timely three pointers would remain key for the Tigers.
It looked to be another rough second half start that had spelled doom for CU over this eight-game losing streak as Cumberlands came out 14-4 to lead 34-33. That run was stalled by a pair of baskets from
Brayden Sebastian as he grabbed an offensive rebound to hit a jumper than nailed one of those timely threes in transition to put CU back in front by two.
Sebastian was key again for the Tigers as he finished in double figures for the third-straight game going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range to finish with 13 points while adding four rebounds.
With the score 38-36 after the Sebastian three, CU pulled away a bit over the next three minutes as they jumped out to an eight-point lead at 45-37 following
Jay'von Jackson's lone three-pointer of the game.
Coming off of his career-high 22 on Thursday, Jackson didn't produce much outside of that three on the offensive end but was able to hit that key bucket, a pair of clutch free throws down the stretch and lead the Tigers with seven rebounds.
With 8:51 remaining, the Patriots pulled within a basket once again at a 47-45 Campbellsville lead but the guard tandem of
Taiveyhon Mason and
Max Reyes went to work down the final stretch. One of Mason or Reyes either scored or assisted on 16 of the team's 18 points and all of their remaining shots made from the field.
Mason bounced back after scoring a season-low on Thursday as he scored a team-high 20 points while adding four assists and four rebounds. Reyes added 13 points off the bench as he grabbed five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
The shot of the game came off the hands of Sebastian off of one of Reyes' assists as Sebastian came open in the right corner off of a Reyes drive as the Sebastian nailed the triple with under a minute to go in the game to make it a 65-55 game.
The Patriots did not quit after that as they finished the game on a 10-4 run, as UC's Tevin Olison almost singlehandedly brought Cumberlands back to make the final moments interesting inside the Powell.
The Tigers hit all four of their final free throws to help seal the game and keep it at two possessions in the final moments as Jackson and Mason both went 2-for-2 in their trips to the line.
Campbellsville will look to earn their second wins of the season against both Lindsey Wilson and Cumberland University when they face the Blue Raiders at home next Thursday and the Phoenix in Lebanon, Tenn. next Saturday.
