COLUMBIA, Ky. — The Tigers sought to add their first W of 2023 to their record Saturday with their concluding contest at the Brady Button Memorial Classic. The Carolina University Bruins were after their first win of their campaign as well, but Campbellsville took care of business with their interior play and intense defense, winning 100-74.
Campbellsville got down to Carolina early, suffering a 16-8 deficit five minutes into the game. The Tigers received a jolt from their bench with
Cobe Penny draining a three ball and
Tyrelle Hunt dropping in a layup from
Kam Vick shortly after. From that early Bruins lead onward until the halftime horn, Campbellsville outscored Carolina 34-17.
In the first half, the Tigers were shooting a stellar 52.9% from the field, dominating in the paint with 22 points in the area. They capitalized on chances from Bruin turnovers too, going for 15 points after taking the ball from the opposition. Hunt and Penny led in points with ten and nine respectively while
Jay Milburn grabbed five rebounds and
Jace Wallace dished three assists.
The Bruins' offense was hot to start the last 20 minutes, going 4-9 from three and 57.1% from the field in the first ten minutes. However, the Tigers kept pace shooting 52.9% themselves while still finding their best chances near the rim. Campbellsville withstood Carolina's perimeter play and extended their advantage to 12 near the second half's midway point. They not only maintained but increased that buffer the rest of the way with their continued interior presence and chances off turnovers, and the Tigers won convincingly, 100-74.
Penny and
Javaughn Smith ended with a team-highs of 21 points. The Tigers hit 87.5% of their 16 free throw attempts too, while limiting the Bruins to just seven trips total. The active Campbellsville defense concluded the game with 19 forced turnovers and 52 points in the paint.
Next up for the Tigers is the Campbellsville University Classic, where they will play Midway University on Friday November 3
rd at 7 p.m. ET and then Indiana University Southeast the next day at 4 p.m. ET.
