PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- In its return to regular-season action, the second-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team got all over visiting Brescia for a 101-67 win on Friday night in the BB&T Classic at the East Ky. Expo Center.
The Bears (2-0) were coming off exhibition losses at Kentucky on Sunday and Tennessee on Monday and welcomed the chance to move away from an NCAA Div. I opponent with the Bearcats in the house.
Led by Kenny Manigault with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds, UPIKE reached the century mark for the second straight game, topping the 100 points scored in the season opener against Grace Bible by one. Six Bears reached double figures in all as Colt Chapman chipped in with 13 points, Macari Brooks added 12 and K.K. Simmons and Christian Leach both finished with 11.
Brescia (0-3) was led by Austin Morris with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Kyle Nixon finished with 11 points and Trey Howard added 10.
While the Bears won by over 30 points, it could have been worse, but the Bearcats helped their case by shooting 52.1 percent from the field and outrebounding UPIKE 35-34. However, the Bears did attempt over 20 more field goals, hit 25 free throws compared to 12 and led the offensive glass 16-11.
UPIKE's pressure defense also overwhelmed Brescia, leading to it turning the ball over 30 times with just 12 assists as the Bears dished out 18 assists and turned it over just nine times. Even shooting nearly 70 times, UPIKE still managed a 50.7 percent mark.
At halftime, the Bears enjoyed a 54-35 lead and went up by as many as 36 points in the second half when Hobo McCoy sank a pair of free throws to make it a 98-62 game with exactly one minute to go. Brescia led just once at 2-0 on Morris' opening basket, but the Bears took over and led by double digits at 12-2 just two minutes later on a dunk by Brooks.
By the time Leach finished a layup with 16 minutes still left in the first half, the Bears had already been on an 18-4 run. Brescia responded with a quick 7-0 run over the next two minutes to get back within seven on a three from Nick Young, but UPIKE bounced right back to lead by 20 just over three minutes later on a three from Chapman.
UPIKE won't have much time to celebrate the win as it is right back on the court at 4 p.m. ET tomorrow against Alice Lloyd at the East Ky. Expo Center.
