Four Patriots Finish in Double Figures in Win over IU Southeast

By Press release submission

Dec 3, 2022

The Patriots picked up their seventh win of the year on Saturday as they got the 90-81 win over the Grenadiers of Indiana University Southeast. UC shot the ball well going 54.2% from behind the arc and 54.4% from the field.

Steven Fitzgerald was once again the leading scorer for his squad and was just one rebound shy of a double-double with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Isaiah Payton had a season high 17 points as he showcased his range going 5-5 from three all in the first half. Payton also added five assists and four board to his stat line. Lamar Harris Jr. and Matt Cromer were the final two Patriots that finished with double digits on the afternoon scoring 12 and 10 respectively.

IU Southeast jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the first two minutes of play before Jahi Hinson knocked down a pair of free throws for his only points of the game. A Harris steal the next possession led to Payton's first triple of the game followed by another three from the senior to extend the lead to 8-4 with 16:35 left. Both teams traded layups with Austin Hall getting his first bucket of the night before a Brady Bell three gave UC a seven point advantage. IUSE responded with seven points of their own to tie things up at 13 apiece with just over 12 minutes left.

The Patriots were outscored 14-10 over the next five minutes, giving the Grenadiers a four point lead with 6:35 remaining. Payton hit his third triple of the half with IUSE knocking one down in response. Payton hit another one the next possession down the court to make things even. Cumberlands would go on a 21-12 run to finish out the half, with Bell, Payton, Fitzgerald, Cromer, and J.J. Ramey all hitting a shot from beyond the arc. Fitzgerald added four more points after hitting a pair of free throws and hitting a layup with 37 seconds left in the half, giving UC the 50-41 lead after 20 minutes of play.

Harris was the only Patriot to score in the opening four minutes of the second half, hitting three layups while IUSE tallied 14 points to make it a 56-54 game with 15:41 remaining. UC's lead would never sink below two for the remainder of the game as they rattled off nine straight points. Fitzgerald finished at the rim twice during this streak while Cromer knocked down his second triple of the game and J.J. Flores scored his second bucket of the game. A couple of IU Southeast jumpers paired with a shot from beyond the arc cut the Patriot lead back to four with 11:33 remaining. Both teams traded baskets before Harris caught a lob from Payton and slammed it home to make it a 69-63 game.

Fitzgerald knocked down another shot from beyond the arc before he and Cromer knocked down three straight shots from the charity stripe to increase UC's lead to 12 with eight minutes left in regulation. Harris was responsible for the next four points while IUSE netted five points of their own. Six straight Grenadier points shrunk the lead to just five with 3:51 to play. The Patriots outscored their opponents 11-7 over the remainder of the game with four free throws from Fitzgerald, Hall's first three of the game, a finish from Cromer and a Ramey jam to bring the final score to 90-81.

UC will go back to conference play as they travel to the University of Pikeville for their fourth MSC matchup of the season. The Patriots are still looking for their first win on the road this year, and will have a chance to do just that Tuesday Dec. 1st at 7:30 pm.