MARIETTA, Ga. --- The Life University men's basketball team played Cumberland University tonight in Mid-South Conference play, falling behind after losing their momentum at the end of the first quarter,and being unable to make a comeback as the Running Eagles suffered an 82-58 loss in the Eagles Nest.
Life U (5-11, 2-9 MSC) hit from deep at a good clip to start the game,
Cam Horton opening things up for the Running Eagles with a deep ball to give the team its only tie of the game at 3-3. Cumberland (11-5, 7-5 MSC) held the lead the entire game quickly pushing the lead into the double digits.
Jordan Hernandez and
Will Freeman nailed deep balls on back-to-back possessions to pull the deficit back to only six at 24-18. As the first half started to dwindle, following a big Cumberland fast break dunk,
Chris Barnes one upped the Phoenix, dropping the hammer with an emphatic slam dunk that brought the entire arena to their feet with 5:22 to play and the score at 30-24. Life U started getting cold from deep as the half went on, while costly turnovers in the final minutes of the first saw the Phoenix go on an 8-0 run over the final 3 minutes to take a 42-28 lead into the half.
The Running Eagles continued having a hard time finding their shot coming out of the break, while the Phoenix continued to pull away, setting the score at 59-36 with 11:55 to play. Life U found their shot again, but it came too late never threatening the Phoenix in an 82-58 loss.
Three players registered double-digit scoring efforts for the Running Eagles, Horton and Barnes leading the way with 12 each. Hernandez followed them closely with 11 points, most of which came off his three made threes.
Unsurprisingly for a game with as wide a scoring margin as this one, Life U trailed significantly in shooting percentage at 32.7% (18-for-55) to Cumberland's 47.5% (29-for-61) and in free throw percentage 66.7% (14-for-21) to the Phoenix's 90.0% (18-for-20). The only shooting category the Running Eagles led was from deep at 28.6% (8-for-28) to 27.3% (6-for-22). Life U lacked physicality in comparison to the Phoenix, being out rebounded 47-28 and trailing in paint scoring 46-16.
The Running Eagles stay at home for their next contest, facing Shawnee State in a mid-week Mid-South Conference nightcap set for Thursday, January 27th at 8 PM.
