LEBANON, Tenn. – The Lindsey Wilson men's basketball team returned to Mid-South Conference action on Thursday night, as they lost to Cumberland (Tenn.) on the road, 78-65.

Dmitry Utolin led the way for the Blue Raiders (13-7, 4-4 MSC) with 21 points, while Charles Sutton and Bryan Wallace chipped in with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Sutton and Wallace led Lindsey Wilson on the glass with seven rebounds apiece. Will Shelton scored a game-high 24 points for the Phoenix (10-12, 3-6 MSC).

In their early going of the game, neither team took control right out of the gate as the lead changed hands three times in the first six minutes of action along with four ties over that span. After the game was tied 10-10 with 13:59 left to play in the first half, the Phoenix went on a 7-0 run over the next 2:57 to grab a 17-10 lead.

Utolin scored the next five points of the game to bring the Blue Raiders back within two points with 19:38 left to play the first half. A seesaw battle ensued as Cumberland regained a seven point lead at the 6:29 mark of the half, but Lindsey Wilson battled back within one-point as Evonte Hill made it a 24-23 game with 5:10 to play in the period.

The largest lead the Phoenix held over the final five minutes was just five points, as the Blue Raiders kept the game close heading into halftime with a score of 32-27 in favor of Cumberland.

In the first half, Lindsey Wilson made just 11-of-30 shot attempts along with going 2-for-9 from behind the arc. The Phoenix had a slight edge shooting the ball, going 13-for-32 from the floor, but they made just 1-of-8 attempts from three-point land.

The Blue Raiders continued to struggle shooting the ball to start the second half, as Cumberland went on a 9-2 run to start the half. After the Phoenix extended their lead to 14 points with 14:24 left in the game, Lindsey Wilson tried to chip away at their deficit, but they only cut the lead to singles digits three times over the next four minutes of play.

With the score at 50-41 in favor of the Phoenix at the 10:40 mark of the second half, Cumberland went on a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the of the game at 56-41 with 6:38 to play. Lindsey Wilson continued to try and claw their way back into the game, but Cumberland matched the Blue Raiders to hang on to the momentum.

Lindsey Wilson pulled with seven points with less than a minute to play, however, the Phoenix went 7-for-9 from the free throw line over the last minute play, and made their last six free throw attempts. Cumberland held on to beat the Blue Raiders 78-65.

After shooting and 39.4 percent in the second half, Lindsey Wilson finished the game shooting 38.1 percent from the floor, and was 6-for-21 from behind the three-point line. Cumberland shot an even 50 percent in second half to close the game shooting 45 percent from the field, but they made just 2-of-15 attempts from behind the arc.

With the win on Thursday, Cumberland snaps a 15-game losing streak to Lindsey Wilson dating back to Jan. 13, 2003.

The Blue Raiders return to action on Monday afternoon as they host Life (Ga.) in a makeup game from Jan. 23. Opening tip between Lindsey Wilson and Life is slated for 3 p.m. CT inside Biggers Sports Center.