COLUMBIA, Ky.– The Tiger basketball team traveled to to Columbia for the Brady Button Memorial Classic Friday night host by conference rival Lindsey Wilson College. Their first tipoff of the season saw them up against the University of Saint Francis Cougars. Despite the Tigers' successful bid to reverse their first-half offensive woes, the Cougars ultimately took the win behind their 27-33 (81.8%) free-throw shooting and double-digit rebound advantage, 81-77.
To start the game, the Cougars collected eight points that propelled them to an early lead. A jump shot from
Noah Gordon disrupted the Saint Francis's run, followed by a layup from
Cobe Penny. The Cougars retaliated with a few points, but Campbellsville did not fall far behind, remaining within a few points from the lead. The Tigers stood at the charity stripe in a couple of occasions, racking a few points on the scoreboard, coming closer to the lead. Despite striving to catch up to the Cougars and get on the same page offensively, Campbellsville trailed Saint Francis at the end of the first half, 39-35.
The Cougars were besting the Tigers in two major scoring statistic at the half: Campbellsville was shooting 36.1% from the field to Saint Francis's 48% and the Tigers tallied 30.0% in threes to the Cougars' 37.5%. Although the teams were shooting the same percentages from the charity stripe, Saint Francis stood at the line twice as many times with their more physical play.
Kam Vick, the 5'11" senior transfer guard, led the Tigers with 11 points and
Jace Wallace with five rebounds.
The Cougars made the first points of the second half at the charity stripe. Vick made a jump shot for the Tigers, bringing Campbellsville closer to the lead. Only a few minutes later, he stood at the charity stripe, tying the score at 41. Both teams kept sharing the lead, remaining only a point from one another. The Tigers regained the lead and then extended that to a game-high eight-point advantage over the Cougars with 5:41 left in the game. However, Saint Francis retaliated with an eight-to-nothing run. With the game tied with less than a minute to go, the Tigers couldn't secure the defensive rebound and were forced to foul. Saint Francis got the win, 81-77.
The Tigers will be back in action traveling to Columbia, Kentucky on Saturday, October 27th to conclude their stint at the Brady Button Memorial Classic against Carolina University. That game starts at 3 p.m. ET.
