| CU men fall at Bethel 87-55 |
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| Sunday, February 3, 2013 |
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McKENZIE -- Cumberland could not keep Bethel University contained on the boards, giving up 68 rebounds to the Wildcats, and CU managed only 16 field goals in an 87-55 losing effort at the Crisp Center Monday night. The sixteen buckets by the Bulldogs were a season low, as was their 24 percent shooting from the floor. Charles Stewart was the only CU player to score in double digits, finishing with 11. Elijah Gillis added eight points and a team-high six rebounds. Despite a dismal first half for Cumberland (8-15, 4-10 Mid-South), connecting on seven buckets in twenty minutes, the team found themselves only trailing the Wildcats 39-28 at the break. That was short-lived, however, as BU broke in the second half with a 12-4 run to increase their lead to 53-32. CU was unable to close the gap the remainder of the game, with BU running the lead to as much as 41 with 2:25 to play. Within the first minute of tipoff, the No. 11 Wildcats (22-3, 4-1 TranSouth) were looking to score, hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Cumberland hit its first shot from the field with 17:35 on the clock thanks to a Lester Gude 3-pointer, and Jerret Towns hit one-of-two free throws pull CU within 7-5. A putback by Bethel’s Mark Vaughn at the 12:55 mark extended BU’s lead to 17-7, but two free throws by E.J. Perry three minutes later cut CU’s deficit to six. A 19-6 run by the Wildcats over the next eight minutes ballooned the lead to 39-23. The Bulldogs ended the half with a 5-0 run of their own on a Stewart score and two free throws and a bucket by Brian Blackmon. Cumberland’s starters went a combined 8-of-39 from the floor with six rebounds while BU’s first five hit 24-of-39 shots and totaled 30 caroms. This defeat gives CU its fourth loss against Bethel in 16 meetings, dating to the 2006-07 season, including a 10-point loss at Cumberland last month. Bethel’s big man, Steven Gillette, was a force underneath, collecting game-highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds. Cumberland begins a four-game conference homestand Thursday versus Campbellsville University at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center. The women's game will tip at 6 p.m. PATRIOTS KNOCK DOWN 32 FTs Down 11 in the final minutes, the Patriots outscored the Bulldogs 17-0 to regain the lead they had surrendered at the 14:19 mark. St. Catharine only connected on five field goals during the final stretch but went 13-of-15 from the line compared to zero trips for CU. CU's Creshaun Holt was the game’s leading scoring with 24 points (18 in the first half), Lester Gude registered 13 points and Kenneth Stripling added 11. Cumberland (8-14, 4-10 Mid South) started the game sinking two free throws due to a pregame technical called on SCC, and Holt scored the next eight points for the Bulldogs to put CU up 10-4 four minutes into the game. Twenty-eight fouls were called on the Bulldogs compared to 11 on SCC. CU stepped up to the charity stripe eight times. Arthur McMillan led St. Catharine (10-10, 6-8) with 18 points. Cumberland travels to their last non-conference game at Bethel University on Monday for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off before beginning a four-game homestand next Thursday versus Campbellsville University at 8 p.m. |
