MCKENZIE, Tenn.– The Campbellsville University men's basketball team headed to Bethel University to compete with the Wildcats Thursday night. The tight contest came down to the last seconds when Bethel converted an and-one and ended with a three-point win, 82-79.
In the opening moments, Malik Muhammad jammed the rim with a dunk. Bethel worked back to regain the lead, but two three-point buckets delivered by Keaston Brown and a layup by Jay Milburn put the Tigers ahead by five. The stream of buckets was interrupted by the Wildcats but Campbellsville kept piling it on and improved their lead to double digits. The Wildcats chipped away at Campbellsville's lead to trail by one point with a three-point shot. Moments later, the Tigers were back to leading by one possession. Jace Wallace threw up a last-second shot to place Campbellsville with the advantage at halftime, 40-36.
Campbellsville tallied a 56.7% field goal percentage at the half and the Wildcats were just behind with 50% in the category. Bethel took advantage of their chances at the charity stripe as they collected six of eight shots from the line, and Campbellsville struggled hitting just three of their eight chances. Brown led his team with ten points, three rebounds, and two assists. Along with Brown, Muhammad also collected ten points and one rebound.
In the second half, Muhammad started at the free-throw line. His shots were followed by a layup, provided by Wallace, that pushed Campbellsville ahead by eight. Wallace and Muhammad continued to collaborate. Wallace knocked down a three, and Muhammad aided with another dunk to keep the Tigers ahead. Campbellsville suffered a drought, and the Wildcats bounced back to lead by one. The Tigers worked back to grasp the upper hand, but the Wildcats collected multiple buckets to place Campbellsville at a discrepancy. The intensity of the match increased as two minutes remained, and the teams traded control. Wallace nailed a three-point bucket to put the Tigers ahead by one with a little over a minute left. Bethel added a jump shot to their score to snatch back the lead. In response, Wallace tied things up going one for two at the charity stripe. The Wildcats brought the ball down, called a timeout, and drew up a play draining precious time from the clock. Then, the Wildcats put up another jump shot that went in and were fouled too. After hitting their opportunity to lead by three, Brown missed a decent look from deep and the Tigers lost, 82-79.
Campbellsville dominated the paint as the Tigers tallied 46 points in the area, whereas Bethel collected 28 points in the paint. The Tigers settled at 61.1% in free throws (11-18), while the Wildcats finished with 83.3% from the line (20-24). Several Tigers finished with double-digit scores. The leading scorer was Muhammad who ended with 21 points. Wallace secured was just behind him with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Brown collected 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The Tigers will move on to Freed-Hardeman University competing Saturday, January 14th. The game's start time is 4 p.m. ET
