The 20th-ranked University of the Cumberlands men’s basketball team kicked off the 2017 portion of their schedule with a 73-69 win over Stillman Thursday night at the O. Wayne Rollins Center. With the win the Patriots improve to 13-3, while the Tigers fall to 12-3, snapping an eight game winning streak.
Stillman jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead, before Marquis Yates, Bernard Samuel, and Chance Morton each drained a three-pointer to put the Patriots ahead 11-4 with 16:49 remaining in the first half. The two teams traded baskets before Dez Marshall pulled up from behind the arc and hit a three to extend Cumberlands lead to ten. The Tigers would go on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take an 18-16 lead midway through the first half. Cumberlands responded with an 8-0 of their own, which included threes from Eddie Tornes and Samuel to take a 26-18 lead. Minutes later, Morton scored eight of his 15 first-half points to extend the Patriots lead to 34-26 with five minutes remaining. The two teams traded buckets to give Cumberlands a 38-32 edge heading into the break.
The Patriots carried the momentum into the second half as Yates drained a three-pointer on Cumberlands first possession. Morton followed with back-to-back jumpers to give the Patriots an 11 point lead two minutes into the half. Stillman went on a 7-3 run over the next five minutes to cut the lead to 48-41 with 14:24 remaining. Eric Duncan scored Cumberlands next eight points, including a three-point play to give the Patriots a 56-44 lead, which was their largest lead of the game. The Tigers responded with a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to cut the lead to one point, before Duncan hit back-to-back three pointers to give Cumberlands a 64-59 lead with 6:28 left. Minutes later, Tornes nailed two straight three pointers to give the Patriots a 70-65 lead with just over a minute remaining. Both teams scored three points in the final minute for the 73-68 final.
Leading the way for Cumberlands was Morton who tallied a game-high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds. Duncan finished with a career-high 18 points, on 5-8 shooting and 6-6 from the line. Tornes added 12 points, while Samuel finished with eight points and five assists. Kelsley Wilkinson dished out a team-high six assists in the win.
The Patriots will return to the court Monday, January 9, when they host conference rival Campbellsville. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and live video and stats will be available here.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Fans can also follow us on Twitter – @UC_Patriots, Instagram – @UCPatriots, YouTube – CumberlandsPatriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.
Tommy Chasanoff
Sports Information Director