CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – On Friday night, the Tigers hit the road for the University of the Cumberlands Classic to battle the UT Southern Firehawks. It was a tough, hard-fought game but ultimately, the ball bounced the Firehawks' way, 61-59.
UT Southern was first to put points up on the scoreboard. The Firehawks got a few buckets ahead, with the Tigers making their first point with a five-point deficit. Keaston Brown and Darius Harding retaliated for Campbellsville, claiming the lead over UT Southern. Neither team had much success from deep, so both were getting as close to the basket as they could on the cleanest looks possible. Frequently, the shot clock was close to running out before each team decided on the look they would take. The Tigers offense widened their lead to a six-point advantage over the Firehawks. However, UT Southern responded and recovered the lead, closing the first half with the Tigers trailing, 28-26.
Going into the second half, despite the Firehawks holding the lead, the Tigers accumulated more time with the advantage with their 11:20 compared to the Firehawks' 6:02. Campbellsville also collected six assists compared to UT Southern collecting none. On the other hand, the Firehawks poked considerably more steals, taking the ball seven times compared to the Tigers' three.
Quickly, in the second half, UT Southern stretched their precarious lead to six. Rather than balk, Campbellsville intensified their defense and forced misses with their closeouts. The Tigers got more and more succesful in the paint, but the Firehawks began to match the offensive efficiency. Just as it seemed Campbellsville could push past UT Southern, the Firehawks would get easy points off a turnover. With both teams at 52 with just under three minutes remaining, a UT Southern layup broke the tie and Campbellsville, despite cutting it to one point, never retook control.
At the end of the game, both teams remained relatively close to one another in most of statistical categories. However, Campbellsville surpassed the Firehawks with 31 bench points to their 14. On the other hand, UT Southern scored significantly more points in the paint with 40 to the Tigers' 24. Also, the Firehawks managed to score more off turnovers: 15 to seven. Hardin and Vick led with 12 points each, Clements with six rebounds, and Gordon with four assists.
The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, November 11th, on the second day of the University of the Cumberlands Classic, to battle the Virginia University of Lynchburg Dragons beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
