FRANKFORT, Ky. – The fifth-seeded Lindsey Wilson men's basketball team saw their 2014-15 season come to an end with a 65-64 loss to fourth-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Friday at the Frankfort Convention Center.
The Blue Raiders (17-13) let a 21 point first-half lead slip away as the Patriots (21-9) battled all the way back until the game became tied at 64-64 with 15 seconds to play.
Following a Blue Raider miss from the free throw line, the Patriots drove the ball down and Xavier Owens was fouled on the floor before he could get a shot off with 0.4 seconds left in the game.
With the game tied, Owens knocked down one of two free throws, missing the second, and Lindsey Wilson's full court heave was off the mark as the Blue Raiders fell 65-64.
Lindsey Wilson began the game as well as you could hope as they built a 39-18 lead by the 1:45 mark of the opening half. The Blue Raiders got off to a fast start, played stingy defense, and dominated the Patriots in the first 20 minutes.
But as the second half began, the switch flipped completely as Cumberlands slowly began their climb back into the game.
The Patriots were hitting shots from all over the floor and the Blue Raiders fell apart with missed layups, turnovers, and the defense that had played so well in the first half began to come apart.
From the start of the second half until the 8:26 mark, the Patriots outscored the Blue Raiders 34-13 to bring the game all the way back tied at 52-52.
Just over a minute later, a field goal by Cumberlands gave them their first lead at 54-52 since it was 5-4 in the first half.
The game tightened up the rest of the way with neither team building more than a three-point lead. Cumberlands built its largest lead of the game at 63-60 with 2:21 to go.
Lindsey Wilson then cut it to one at 63-62, and after an offensive foul by the Patriots, the Blue Raiders had a chance to take the lead at the free throw line. But a miss and a make tied it again 63-63 with 1:24 to play.
The Patriots headed back to the free throw line with 30 seconds left and went 1-for-2 to keep it a one point game. Lindsey Wilson then had another chance to take the lead at the free throw line, but a make and miss tied it again 64-64. Shortly after came the Owens foul and ensuing free throw that sealed the win for Cumberlands.
In the tale of two halves, Lindsey Wilson shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the field in the first and made 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc, while Cumberlands shot 33.3 percent (8-24) and hit just 3-of-12 shots from beyond the arc.
In the second half, Lindsey Wilson shot 30.8 percent (8-26) and 1-of-7 from three while the Patriots shot an incredible 73.7 percent (14-19) from the floor making 2-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. The Blue Raiders left points on the floor as they went 9-of-19 from the charity stripe in the loss.
D'on Hall led the Blue Raiders with 16 points followed by Tony Horne with 14. Cumberlands' D'Lando Carter led all scorers with 21 points as Owens finished with 16.
