Patriots drop game to Trailblazers

     The loss drops the Patriots to 2-5 overall.

     Scoring in double figures for SSCC were Tirrell Cumberland, Carter Nehus, Davon Smith Jeremy Bennington and Josh Hawk.

     “OCU is a nationally ranked team, (No. 2 in the NCCAA) and they are very well coached,” SSCC men’s head coach Ted Creamer said. “They shoot well and they shoot free throws extremely well. Their free throw shooting is excellent.”

     Cumberland led all scorers with 28 points, netting 22 points in the first half. The sophomore drained all four of his 3-pointers in the first half, and was a perfect 10 of 10 from the free-throw line for the game.

     “Tirrell is playing hurt, but he is playing like an All-American,” Creamer said.

     The Trailblazers jumped out with a 16-5 run as less than 10 minutes ticked off the clock in the first half. SSCC came back with four straight points from Hawk and Cumberland to cut the lead down to 16-11.

     After a trey by OUC’s Bryan Keaton, Cumberland answered with a jump shot.

     The 11:37 mark of the half began a sequence of four straight 3-pointers, as both teams were on fire from beyond the three-point line.

     It started with a trifecta from Cumberland, but was answered by the Trailblazers’ Tim Baker. Cumberland came back with another 3-pointer, and again, OCU equaled the feat with a 3-pointer from Mike Farrell.

     The Patriots cut the OCU lead down to six points at 29-23 with two converted free throws by Cumberland and a put back basket by Bennington.

     With OCU adding to their lead, Andrew McKay brought the Patriots within six points of the lead with a rebound and basket with 8:00 left in the first half.

     Cumberland made his final 3-pointer of the game with 4:49 left in the opening 20 minutes to bring SSCC within 10 points of OCU at 42-32.

     Nehus scored a retro three-point play with a layup and free throw conversion with 34.7 seconds remaining in the first half.

     At the start of the second half the Trailblazers added to the 10-point halftime lead with the opening basket of the 20 minute period.

     The Patriots battled back with points by Hawk and Tyler Jimison, who netted a three-point play. Later in the half, Bennington scored four points, and McKay brought the Patriots closer to OCU’s advantage at four points with a free throw.

     OCU extended their lead to 12 points, but was cut to eight with baskets from Hawk and Cumberland.

     Late in the contest Farrell sank two 3-pointers, making the score 82-71.

     OCU made the score 100-86 with less than a minute left in the game. Whiteoak graduate Chris Fuhrman scored the Patriots’ final points with a steal and fast break layup.

     “We are struggling offensively due to having 11 freshmen,” Creamer said. “They (OCU) are a four-year school. They are better offensively because they recognize the open man to pass the ball to. They are a good model for what we are working to be like.

     “We need to be more patient. We had too many turnovers due to freshman mistakes."

     SSCC was 23 of 29 from the free-throw line. OCU finished 27 of 35 from the foul line.

     The Patriots will play again Monday, Nov. 30 at UC Clermont.

BOX SCORE

SCORE BY HALF

OCU – 53 47 – 100

SSCC – 43 45 – 88

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

OCU (100)

S.Vasilof 7 (2) 3-5 23, M.Farrell 1 (3) 10-10 21, D.Glanton 1 2-2 4, M.McCowan 1 1-2 3, J.Baker 1 2, N.Oliver 0 3-4 3, B.Keaton 0 (1) 3, J.Hays 1 2, T.Baker 3 (3) 8-10 23, M.Baker 8 16. TOTALS: 23 (9) 27-35 100.

SSCC (88)

T.Jimison 2 3-5 7, T.Cumberland 3 (4) 10-10 28, A.McKay 1 3-4 5, C.Nehus 5 1-1 11, C.Fuhrman 1 2, D.Smith 4 (1) 2-2 13, J.Hawk 4 2-3 10, J.Bennington 5 2-4 12. TOTALS: 25 (5) 23-29 88.