North Kentucky News

Pats Top Firehawks in OT

Cumberlands defeated the RV UT Southern Firehawks in overtime 97-91, their highest scoring game of the season. UC moves to 16-10 on the year and gets back to .500 in the MSC with a 10-10 record. UC put together a dominant first half in which they hit 8 of their 15 threes to help them win the contest.

 

Five Patriots finished the matchup in double figures led by J.J. Ramey who tied his career high in points with 23, 17 of which coming in the first half,  while also adding a season-high 8 rebounds. Steven Fitzgerald was one board away from a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and a steal. Lamar Harris Jr. lit up the stat sheet with 16 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, and 2 blk while both Jahi Hinson and Isaiah Payton scored 12 points each.

 

Ramey started the night early with a layup off a nice Austin Hall pass followed by a Hall three the next offensive possession. Ramey knocked down his first three of the half with 18:33 on the clock to give UC the 8-2 lead, forcing a UTS timeout. Out of the break, the Firehawks hit a layup before Ramey hit another three to extend the lead to seven.

 

Six straight UTS points made it a one point game, but not for long as back-to-back Harris buckets gave UC the 15-11 lead with 13:46 remaining in the half. The next three minutes of play saw seven UTS points and Payton's first three of the game to even the score with just under 12 to play. Ramey responded once again with another three followed by a strong finish by Harris.

 

The final 8 minutes was dominated by the Pats, outscoring their opponent 25-11. The run was started with a Hall lob to Ramey who finished with the reverse slam. A Trio of Patriots knocked down threes at the end of the half including Brady bell, Matt Cromer, and Fitzgerald. Harris added six more points including a windmill dunk off his own steal. UC would take a 48-34 lead into the locker room.

 

Tennessee Southern did not quit coming out of halftime with a 20-6 run to even the score at 54 a piece with 12:18 remaining. Layups from Fitzgerald and Hall accounted for all six of UC's points during this stretch. A triple from Fitzgerald regained UC's lead prior to a UTS layup the next possession down the court. Payton knocked down back-to-back threes to put the Pats up seven with just over 10 minutes to play. Two foul shots from Lamar and another basket out of Fitzgerald increased the lead to double digits before seven straight UTS points made it a four point game.

 

Hinson hit his first shot from deep followed by two more makes at the charity stripe from Ramey. However, the Firehawks did not go away tallying 13 straight points to take their first lead of the game. Hinson responded with five points to retake the lead, forcing another Tennessee Southern timeout with 1:33 left in regulation. UC's defense forced a turnover out of the inbounds play, leading to a Ramey and-one finish.

UTS hit a layup and forced a Patriot turnover, leading to a three to go up 81-80 with 53 seconds on the clock. UC went to Fitzgerald in the clutch and it paid off, as the senior knocked down another three for a two-point lead. Both teams hit one free throw each, including Ramey who made it 84-82 with seven seconds left. UT Southern went the length of the court and hit a layup to send the game into overtime.

 

The Patriots won the tip-off and went to Harris in the paint for a quick bucket to take a two-point lead. UTS responded with a jumper of their own before a Payton three and four Hinson points put them ahead by seven with under a minute to play. The Firehawks were forced to send UC to the line where they would go 4-6 to ice the game. The final buzzer sounded as Cumberlands took the contest 97-91.

Original source can be found here.