COLUMBIA, Ky. -- A scoring drought in the waning minutes spelled doom for the Lindsey Wilson men's basketball team in a 62-58 loss at No. 25-ranked Cumberlands (Ky.) at O. Wayne Rollins Center.
In perhaps their best comeback effort of the season, the Blue Raiders overcame a 29-17 halftime deficit to take a 52-45 lead with 5:26 left in the game.
But Lindsey Wilson (10-10, 1-6 in the Mid-South Conference) ran out of gas down the stretch as the Patriots scored 13 straight points and 17 of the final 23 points to close out the game. Cumberlands improves to 16-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play with the win.
Freshmen Charles Sutton, Bryan Wallace and Hannes Erhardt sparked the Blue Raiders who was without leading scorer Julian Edmonson due to an injury. Sutton scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half while Wallace and Erhardt combined for 21 points.
Up seven, Lindsey Wilson failed to score on its next seven possessions -- missing all five its shots and committing two turnovers. During the fateful 5:15, Cumberlands sprinted past the Blue Raiders making 4-of-5 from the floor and 5-for-8 from the free throw line to take a 58-52 lead.
Wallace and D'on Hall made it interesting in the closing seconds as each hit a 3-pointer.
Hall connected with 11 seconds left to pull the Blue Raiders within 58-55. Following a pair of Xavier Owens' free throws, Wallace banked home a three to cut the deficit to 60-58.
Owens made two more freebies -- he ended the night 13-of-16 at the free throw line -- to seal the win.
Cumberlands shot 40.5 percent (17-of-42) from the field compared to Lindsey Wilson's 34.5 percent (19-of-55). The Blue Raiders made 14-of-30 in the second half after shooting just 5-of-25 in the first 20 minutes.
While the Blue Raiders finished with two more field goals, it was the free throw line that proved to be the scoring difference. Lindsey Wilson was a near-perfect 16-of-17 from the charity stripe while Cumberlands finished 24-of-30.
Owens scored a game-high 22 points while Tony Bradley chipped in 14.
Lindsey Wilson returns to action at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Jan. 22 as the Blue Raiders host Cumberland (Tenn.) at Biggers Sports Center.
