COLUMBIA, Ky. – The Lindsey Wilson men's basketball team started their 2015-16 Mid-South Conference schedule with a 73-69 victory over Cumberland (Tenn.) at home on Thursday night.

Bryan Wallace led Lindsey Wilson (4-2, 1-0 MSC) with 19 points, adding four rebounds. Four other Blue Raiders hit double figures in the game as Hannes Erhardt (13 points), DJ Lambert (13 points), Dmitry Utolin (12 points) and Charles Sutton (10 points) all started the game and hit double-digits against Cumberland (4-4, 0-1 MSC).

The Blue Raiders started the game slow as the Bulldogs began on a 10-2 run in the first 5:07 of the game. Lindsey Wilson went 1-for-8 from the floor over that stretch. The Blue Raiders started to chip away at the Bulldog lead, and Lindsey Wilson took their first lead with 7:50 to go in the first half after D.J. Lambert knocked down his second-straight three pointer to give the Blue Raiders a 15-14 lead.

Lindsey Wilson was able to extend their lead to as many as six points after they took a 24-18 lead with 3:49 to play in the half after Pepper Ben Ofokile hit a free throw. Cumberland brought the game within one-point twice down the stretch of the first half, but they could not regain the lead as the Blue Raiders took a 35-29 lead into the half after Ja'Ln Williams hit a three pointer at the buzzer.

For the half, the Bulldogs shot 41.7 percent from the field in the first half, compared to 39.4 percent from Lindsey Wilson.

In the second half, the Blue Raiders took their first double-digit lead of the game with 17:44 to play in regulation as they led 41-31. Cumberland battled back with a 13-2 run to grab their first lead of the second half with 15:03 to play in the half as they led 44-43.

Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but when the Blue Raiders regained the lead with 13:13 left on the clock in the second half, and they never let the Bulldogs pull ahead again. Cumberland tied the game 52-52 with 10:23 left in the second half, but they could not take the lead.

Lindsey Wilson extended their lead to eight points twice down the stretch, and they were able to keep the Bulldogs at a comfortable distance late as the Blue Raiders won the game 73-69.

For the game, Lindsey Wilson shot 44.8 percent from the field and 42.9 from beyond the arc, however, Cumberland finished the game shooting 52.9 percent from the floor after 63.0 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs also shot the ball well behind the three-point line as they went 6-for-12 for the game.

After losing their last two games, the Blue Raiders got back on the winning track as they moved to 4-2 on the season.

The Blue Raiders step out of non-conference play on Tuesday night as they host Wilberforce (Ohio) at 6 p.m. CT.