PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- It was a slow start, but ultimately Jackson Hussey made history and Macari Brooks scored a season-high 33 points to wake fourth-ranked UPIKE up for a 110-77 win over Ohio State-Mansfield on Sunday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
While Brooks put on a show scoring the ball, Hussey tallied a recorded first for the Bears, finishing with a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It is just the second triple-double this season in the NAIA.
The duo led the Bears to their best start in recorded history as well with an 18-1 record. The next best performance was in 2012-13 when that group went 17-1 through its first 18 games.
Early on, it looked like the Mavericks weren't going to be just a blip on the radar. In fact, OSU-Mansfield (3-12) took a 36-34 lead when Trevontae Wilson buried a pair of free throws with five minutes left in the first half. It was just a one-point UPIKE lead two minutes later when Markese Hicks buried a three to keep the Mavs in it.
The Bears (18-1, 6-1 MSC) closed the first half on a 12-2 run to lead by 11 at the break, a needed flurry of points after the Mavericks shot 62 percent from the field in the first half, including a 4-of-7 showing from behind the arc. Even though it ended up losing by 33 points, OSU-Mansfield still finished at 51.7 percent from the field, but 26 turnovers were just too much to overcome.
With its bench leading the Mavs in scoring 33-13 and outscoring them 78-38 in the paint, UPIKE increased its lead to 21 points less than four minutes into the second half. The lead swelled to as many as 33 points on a free throw from Michael Eneh with 4:22 to play. Eneh finished with five points and 10 rebounds.
The Bears shot 54.8 percent from the field, but couldn't get going from deep, hitting just 4 of 20 from the 3-point line. But they did control the glass 44-27, including 20-6 in offensive boards, and took care of the ball with just 10 turnovers.
K.K. Simmons and Christian Leach also scored in double figures with 15 points each and Trey Rakes added 10. UPIKE used a new starting lineup for the game of Eneh, Hussey, Brooks, Leach and Malik Jacobs. Kenny Manigault did not appear for the Bears after two grueling conference games on Thursday and Saturday.
The Bears, winners of 36 straight games at home and 48 straight non-conference home contests, are back in action at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday against Ohio Christian in the expo center.
