Box Score

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Kearsten Marion's fall-away jumper with 1.2 seconds on the clock lifted Bluefield College over Campbellsville University, 65-64, in the Rams' Mid-South Conference opener, Thursday evening at CU's Powell Athletic Center.

Campbellsville (2-1, 0-1 MSC)—who were just outside the top-25 in the preseason poll—missed the front half of two separate one-and-one opportunities with less than 30 seconds to play, leaving the door open for the Rams' (1-1, 1-0 MSC) late heroics.

With 26 seconds to play, Jordan Myers went to the line looking to make it a two possession game in favor of the hosts, as BC trailed 64-61. But, the missed front end sent the ball the other way. Kyle Grisby drove to the baseline and found an open Alex Lubsey for the big dunk down the middle, cutting the deficit to one, 64-63, with 12 seconds to play.

A quick foul for the Rams sent DeShawn Dockery to the line with 11.8 ticks left. The second front-end miss and a Lubsey rebound pushed the Rams' attack.

Marion drove up the left as time wound down and after a taking a dribble inside the arc, took a step back and fired a high arching shot which dropped through the net with 1.2 seconds to go.

Lubsey deflected the Tigers' full-court inbound throw allowing time to expire.

Lubsey's 16 points on 8-for-15 shooting and 11 rebounds both served as game highs to lead the Rams. Marion added 15 for the victors, who open up Mid-South play with a win for the second straight season. Last year, BC knocked off a ranked Georgetown team in its first MSC contest of the season.

Campbellsville started the contest quickly by hitting three of its first four shots—including two threes—en route to an 8-2 advantage and eventually pushed its edge up to 12-4.

But, the Rams found their stride and strung together a 10-3 run, grabbing their first lead, 15-14, on a Mike Collins three with less than 11 minutes to go in the opening half.

Bluefield kept it going and extended its run to 16-2 for a 20-14 advantage, its largest of the first half.

CU pulled to within two on two separate occasions, but the Rams answered with a bucket in the paint from Alex Lubsey and a three-pointer from Kearsten Marion upon the threats.

The Tigers finally pulled even with BC at 27-all, but the Rams finished the final three minutes of the first half on a 6-2 run for the 33-29 lead at intermission.

Bluefield shot 15-for-37 during the first half and held a 22-17 edge in rebounds. Campbellsville, while starting hot from outside, shot 3-for-13 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.

Holding a 39-37 edge, Bluefield put up seven quick points to earn its largest lead of the game, 46-37, and force a CU timeout.

But, Campbellsville mounted a charge and gained the lead 54-53 with 8:12 left on the clock. The lead was the Tigers' first since their 14-12 advantage with 11:06 on the clock in the first half.

The final four minutes saw five lead changes as the teams answered one another's call. Lubsey gave BC a 59-58 lead, while A'Darius Pegues quickly earned the hosts the advantage back with a bucket with 3:21 to play.

After a pair of empty possessions, Marion knocked down a jumper to give BC a 61-60 edge with 2:06 to play. Once again, Pegues had an answer, scoring on CU's next possession. A forced Ram turnover sent the ball to CU once again, where Pegues converted another basket in the paint to lift the lead to three, 64-61 with less than a minute to play.

The night finished with Campbellsville shooting 25-for-52 (48.1%) from the field to BC's 28-for-66 (42.4%). Both teams struggled from beyond the arc, Bluefield shooting 3-for-14 and Campbellsville 6-for-23. Despite getting to the line 19 times, CU only knocked down eight of its attempts (42.1%). Bluefield went 6-for-9 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.

Bluefield wraps up its Mid-South Conference opening weekend on Saturday, facing St. Catharine at 4 p.m. The Patriots fell to UPike, 94-93, in overtime Thursday night.