KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The Tigers kicked off a seven-game slate at The Show Saturday against the Indiana University Kokomo Cougars. Although they led for all but three minutes, Campbellsville lost in the winding seconds, 61-59.
Per Visit Kingsport, "The Show is a three-day event that takes place from November 29 through December 1 at MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center.This year's event will bring more than 600 athletes to the region. 22 men's teams and eight women's teams from 12 states will play a total of 30 games. All participating teams are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA)."
The teams hit the court early Saturday and the rigidity of both team's offense showed it. Neither team could buy a bucket and, despite going down early 7-2, Campbellsville went on a ten-to-nothing run to go ahead 12-7. From that point forward in the opening half, the Tigers wouldn't surrender their advantage. For the half, the Tigers would shoot just 33%, but they made up for their offensive inefficiency by holding the Cougars to just 23%, the lowest first-half field-goal percentage Campbellsville had held any team to during the short season. An additional difference maker proved to be bench scoring:
Cobe Penny came out consistent and spearheaded the 12-point bench differential at halftime with his nine points, a team-high.
Emerging from the half ahead by nine, the Tigers' offensive struggles came to a head. Stretching over from the conclusion of the first half to the opening minutes of the second, the Tigers suffered nearly a five-minute scoring drought before
Marcellus Vail sank his layup. Eight shots and five minutes into the second half, Campbellsville was 1-9 from the field and their lead had been cut to just two. The Cougars continued to improve their offensive play, but the Tigers couldn't translate their attempts to makes. Kokomo grabbed the lead for the first time with just a minute and a half left in the game. Despite that, down three with eight seconds remaining,
Keaston Brown sprinted up the court past the press and hit a transition three at the top of the key to tie things up. Seconds later though, Kokomo sprinted down to their end and hit a fading two-pointer on the baseline to go back up two with just over three seconds remaining. After the timeout, Campbellsville tried to get a shot off but were unable to, losing 61-59.
The Tigers have one more game at The Show on Sunday, December 1st. They will take on the Oakland City Mighty Oaks at 12:15 p.m. ET.
- A testament to the defensive effort of both squads, neither team had a scorer with over ten points in the first half. Furthermore, no Cougar had more than five points.
- The Tigers shot the same percentage in the first half as they did in the second: 33%. What kept them in the lead so long was their bench play: Penny led all scorers with 23.
