The Kuyper College Men's Basketball team defeated Welch College in a big rematch this afternoon by a score of 83-80. The Cougars are down in Harrodsburg, KY, where they are taking on a huge invitational full of great NCCAA II teams. Kuyper is playing Welch College, Boyce College, and Campbellsvillle University - Harrodsburg. On Thursday afternoon, the Cougars took on the Flames from Welch College. These two teams met earlier this year, where Welch defeated Kuyper 88-73 on December 12th at Kuyper. However, the Cougars were able to even the series at 1-1 on the season with today's win. 

Kuyper's win was propelled by prolific three-point shooting. The Cougars shot 14/30 from three. Rebounding was another spot where the Cougars finished with a favorable position, as they outrebounded the Flames 44-33. Of those 44 rebounds, 20 were offensive, providing the Cougars with much-needed second-chance efforts. Kuyper went into the halftime break up 11, and they kept that lead for much of the second half. However, late in the second half, the Flames went on a huge run to cut the Cougars' lead and actually take the lead themselves. The Flames took a 2 point lead with a bit over a minute left in the game, but Herman Brown hit a clutch three to get the Cougars back in front. Elisha Searcy was able to extend the lead to 3 with a pair of free throws, and the Cougars got a much needed stop to close out the game. 

Kuyper was led in scoring today by Damion Cochran, who finished with 22 points on an efficient 8-15 from the field and 5-8 from three. Elisha Searcy had a very impressive double-double, as he finished with 15 points and 10 assists, while having zero turnovers on the afternoon. Herman Brown finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds, while continuing his hot shooting, as Brown finished the game 4-8 from three. Danyel Bibbs finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Richard Major added 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Cougars. 

Coach Gary Bailey was pleased to escape with a win. Coach Bailey said, "We played the majority of the game like we are capable of. In the second half, we showed our youth a little bit, but it was a great win, especially after losing to this team earlier in the year. It showed our development as a team." 

The Cougars move to 9-4 on the season and 7-2 in the NCCAA II. They return to action with another NCCAA rematch tomorrow, where they will take on Boyce College at 5:00pm ET.