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Matt Daniel had 27 points and 7 rebounds as he played all 50 minutes against Campbellsville scoring the fade away three at th
Matt Daniel had 27 points and 7 rebounds as he played all 50 minutes against Campbellsville scoring the fade away three at th
Sun, Jan 22, 2012 - [Men's Basketball]

The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men's Basketball team has had a rough January thus far in 2012.  The Patriots went into the week with a 1-3 record since the New Year, but were looking to pick up two wins as they traveled to take on St. Catharine College on Thursday and Campbellsville University on Saturday. 

On Thursday, UC traveled to Springfield, KY to take on St. Catharine College.  The Patriots fell behind in the first half trailing St. Catharine by 7 at the break 32-39.  UC made a run at a comeback, but just couldn't overcome the deficit as St. Catharine was able to hang on for a 72-70 victory over Cumberlands.  Aaron Watts (Strunk, KY) came off the bench to lead the Patriots with 24 points.  Watts also chipped in 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal.  Matt Daniel (Morehead, KY) also pitched in 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.  Steve Goins (Chicago, IL) added 9 points and 10 rebounds for the Patriots. 

On Saturday, the Patriots looked to get back into the win column as they traveled to take on #20 Campbellsville University.  UC jumped out to a 9 point lead at the break 38-29, but was only able to put 19 points on the board in the 2nd half including their last 12 points of the half coming from the free throw line.  The Tigers evened the score as they took the Patriots to overtime.  While trailing by two with under 10 seconds to play, Matt Daniel shot a three but missed, but Patrico Leadon (Nassau, Bahamas) was there to put it back in quickly for 2 to take it to a 2nd overtime.  This time with 5.8 seconds remaining, down 2, and with no timeouts, the inbound pass came to Daniel who drove it down the floor and hit the fade away three pointer at the buzzer to put the Patriots over the Tigers by a final score of 78-77.

Daniel led the way for UC with 27 points and 7 rebounds as he played all 50 minutes of the game.  Leadon followed with his first double-double of the year adding 15 points and 10 rebounds in the game.  Benito Santiago, Jr. (Coamo, Puerto Rico) pitched in 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  The Patriots shot a fantastic 79% from the free throw line going 27-34, keeping them in the ball game in the 2nd half. 

The Patriots will be back in action on Thursday as they travel to take on Pikeville College.  Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm.  That game will air of WYMT-TV.  UC will then be back in action on Saturday as they continue on the road to take on UVA-Wise with tip scheduled for 4:00 pm. 

For more information on the Patriots Men's Basketball team as well as other Patriot athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com.