Box Score

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The second-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team trailed Cumberlands (Ky.) by two with 12 minutes to play, but owned the rest of the game from there, posting a 92-76 win on Monday night at the East Ky. Expo Center.

The Patriots (15-10, 7-8 MSC) took a 36-33 lead into halftime and had gone up by as many as five points at the 14-minute mark of the second half. It was the next seven minutes when Pikeville (23-2, 13-1 MSC) finally gained control, outscoring Cumberlands 25-10 to take a 75-65 lead.

A 9-1 Bear run followed and in the game's final minutes they enjoyed leads as high as 18 points. The ending seemed like a different ballgame than the one that was tied seven times in the first half with 10 lead changes. Dating back to last season, UPIKE has won 20 straight games at home.

Bruce Reed, two days after scoring 37 against Georgetown, led the Bears with 20 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals. Chris Cantino played big as well, tallying a double-double of 14 points and 15 boards, while Keala King and Kenny Manigault added 19 and 18 points, respectively.  

Cumberlands' R. J. Scott led all scorers with 26 points and hauled in a team-best five rebounds. James Archie added 11 points and Steve Goins chipped in with 10 down low. Cumberlands outshot the Bears 50 to 48.2 percent from the field and matched them with eight 3-pointers.

The difference came down to free-throws, where Pikeville made 12 more, and taking care of the basketball. UPIKE turned it over just seven times, compared to 17 for the Patriots which led to a 26-10 advantage in points off giveaways. The Bears also won the battle of the boards 34-29.

Manigault made a pair of free throws to tie the score at 33 in the final minute of what was an incredibly even first half. Scott connected on a three for the final basket of the half to take a 36-33 lead into the break.

After trailing for just over two minutes, UPIKE took the lead for good on a three from Reed to make it 58-57 with just under 12 minutes to play. Reed quickly hit another three and Justice added one a minute later and the late rout was on.

By the time King added back-to-back triples with 4:30 left, Pikeville was up 84-66 and on cruise control the rest of the way.

Mid-South Conference play resumes at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday at Shawnee State in Portsmouth, Ohio. With a win, Pikeville can clinch its first MSC Regular-Season Championship since the 2000-01 season.