March 14, 2008

Douglas, Young Earn All-TranSouth Honors

Cumberland University's Thomas Douglas and DeCorey Young earned All-TranSouth honors, selected by league coaches and recently announced by the TranSouth.
All-Conference honors consist of two teams, with the first team having 10 players and the second team having five. Doughlas earned first-team honors, while Young was named to the second team.
Douglas is joined on the first team by Glen Dandridge and Trey Pearson of Lambuth, Kendaris Pelton of Martin Methodist, Zac Frey of Freed Hardeman, Josh Helton and Collins Onyando of Trevecca, Matt Neaville and Brian Lake of Union and Stanley Brownlee of Crichton.
Douglas, a junior guard, ranks fourth in the league in scoring (16.3 points per game) and 11th in field-goal percentage (.456).
Young, a senior, is averaging 13.5 points and 5.7 boards per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field. He leads the league in blocks with 1.47 per game. He is shooting 69 percent from the free-throw line.
Young was joined on the second team by Jeremy Weddle of Lambuth, Levi Taylor of Lyon College, Antoine Lesesene of Bethel and Kevin Greene of Martin Methodist.
CU Bulldog Johnny Kuchar also earned TranSouth All-Freshman honors.

March 6, 2008

Bulldogs Take First-Round Win at TranSouth Conference Tourney

No. 4-seeded Cumberland University won its opening round TranSouth Conference Tournament game against No. 5-seeded Union University, 73-70. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by senior DeCorey Young with 21 points. Junior Thomas Douglas added 18, and junior Rontreal Braxton finished the night with 12.
The Bulldogs (21-10) advance to the TranSouth Conference semi-finals on Saturday, March 8 in Jackson, Tenn. to face the No. 1-seeded Lambuth Eagles for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be broadcast live on WANT-FM 98.9.


February 23, 2008

Bulldogs Knock Off Redhawks, 67-64, on a Memorable Senior Night

Senior forward DeCorey Young scored a game-high 20 points as the Cumberland Bulldogs defeated 10th-ranked Martin Methodist, 67-64, on Saturday night at the Dallas Floyd Center. The Redhawks (24-5, 15-4) rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to go ahead 51-47 with 5:50 remaining in the game, but Cumberland University (19-9, 12-6) finished strong to knock off Martin Methodist in one of the few remaining conference games for both teams. With the win, the Bulldogs remain a game behind third-place Trevecca (20-7, 11-5).

February 19, 2008

Balanced Attack Carries 'Dawgs to Convincing Win over Brescia

DeCorey Young (17) and Thomas Douglas (23) scored in double figures, and Kevin Bufford flirted with a double-double as the Cumberland University Bulldogs rolled to a 63-48 victory over Brescia University Tuesday night in the Dallas Floyd Gymnasium. By winning for the fourth time in the last seven games, the Bulldogs improved to 18-9 overall.

February 11, 2008

Defense Lifts Bulldogs to Victory

As it had been all season long, defense again proved key Monday night as Cumberland University defeated Union University 64-61 in a TranSouth Conference game. Rontreal Braxton led the way with 20 points, as the Bulldogs improved to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in the TranSouth. Union fell to 13-10 and 7-6 in league action.
The Bulldogs limited Union to 7-36 from three-point range. Thomas Douglas added 16 points for Cumberland, and DeCorey Young scored 14.
Matt Neaville led Union with 18 points, and Tony Brown added 12. Union University shot .333 (25-75) from the field for the game.
"Union is a great three-point shooting team, but our guys were committed to contesting every shot they took," said CU Head Coach Lonnie Thompson. "It's a win our program needed and one that our guys deserved."
The Bulldogs continue their West Tennessee road trip on Wednesday as they play at Crichton College. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. CST.

January 31, 2008

Bulldogs, Trojans Renew I-40 Rivalry

Tonight at the Dallas Floyd Center, No. 16-ranked Cumberland University plays host to No. 19-ranked Trevecca Nazarene University. Cumberland (13-5 overall) is looking to get back on the winning track after a tough loss at Martin Methodist on Monday night. The Bulldogs will have to provide a great defensive performance in order to slow down the high-powered offense of Trevecca, as the Trojans are currently third in scoring offense (86.3 p/g) and first in field goal percentage (55%) in the TranSouth Conference.
Trevecca (15-4 overall) has recently beaten Blue Mountain College and Mid-Continent and, like Cumberland, took its last loss against Martin Methodist. The Trojans are led by senior forward Collins Onyando (11.2 p/g) and senior guard Josh Helton (17 p/g) -- together, the duo provides a great inside/outside combo. Still those who are familiar with the rivalry know that rankings and statistics mean absolutely nothing in such an intense rivalry.
"This is a great night for Cumberland University and the City of Lebanon," said CU Head Coach Lonnie Thompson. "Spectators are going to witness a game where both teams exhaust every effort in order to get the win."
In recent years, the Cumberland-Trevecca match-up has had some of the highest attendance records in the Dallas Floyd Center and tonight should be no different.

January 28, 2008

Cumberland Men's Basketball Mid-Conference Review

The Cumberland Men's Basketball program is off to a great start in TranSouth Conference play with a 7-1 record (13-4 overall) and stands alone at first place in the conference. Much of the Bulldogs' success has come on the road with wins at Blue Mountain College, Freed Hardeman University, Lyon College, Lambuth University and, most recently, Bethel University.

Many Bulldogs are delivering key contributions night-in and night-out. Junior guard Thomas Douglas leads the team in scoring, while senior forward DeCorey Young leads the team in rebounding and is tied for second in scoring with junior forward Rontreal Braxton. Senior forwards Slim Bufford and Jason Langellier are what CU Head Coach Lonnie Thompson labels as "energy guys" -- their efforts might not show up in the box scores, but their ability to block shots, cause steals and get offensive put-backs are just as important to the team's success, Thompsons says.

But, perhaps one statistic best explains why Cumberland is off to its best start since the 2003-04 season -- they are ranked No. 1 in scoring defense in the TranSouth Conference and No. 5 in the country by allowing only 61 points per game.

"We're happy with the team effort that we're getting on the defensive end, but we certainly cannot get content," Thompson said. "The conference is very solid and there are no nights off. I do believe, though, that our guys are committed to the next six weeks and leaving it all on the floor."

Up next for Cumberland will be a visit to Martin Methodist on Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. Cumberland will follow that up with a four-game home stand which starts off with a visit from cross-town rival Trevecca Nazarene University on Jan. 31.