PULASKI, Tenn. -- Michael Lewis had himself a night, scoring a career-high 21 points to go along with 16 rebounds, three blocks and an assist as the 19th-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to win at Martin Methodist 74-67 on Thursday.

The game was part of a challenge between the Mid-South Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference. With the Bears' win, the MSC holds a 2-1 lead after the first of three nights of play.

This was the first game of the season that UPIKE (9-0) was behind at halftime, trailing 36-31, but defense and a stellar night from Lewis made the difference in a second half that UPIKE outscored the Redhawks 43-31 in.

UPIKE ended up shooting 50 percent from the field, compared to a poor 36.8-percent showing by Martin Methodist. The Bears got it done by attacking the rim, adding up to a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint. A 13-6 lead on the offensive glass didn't hurt either, led by six offensive boards by Lewis.

The Redhawks (4-1) led 58-51 with 8:10 to play, but were outscored 11-2 over the next five minutes as the Bears regained the lead at 62-60 on a jumper by Trey Rakes. It was the Bears' first lead since 21-20 halfway through the first half.

Back-to-back buckets by Lewis and Marshall Bennett extended the UPIKE lead to five with less than two minutes to play before it became a free-throw shooting contest late. While a 3-pointer from Connor Peach and layup by Toderick Davis got MMC within two at 68-66 with a minute on the clock, the Bears made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win as the Redhawks went 0-for-4 from the field in the final 30 seconds.  

In the first half, Martin Methodist started hot and finished strong, but the middle was a bit of a mixed bag.

The game opened with a 5-0 Redhawk run before the Bears went on to outscore them 18-4 over the next six minutes. UPIKE's nine-point lead was its largest of the game as Martin Methodist responded with a 12-2 burst of its own to take a 21-20 lead with 9:56 left in the half on a layup by Jamaal Ahmad.

Except for a brief tie at 21 all, the Redhawks stayed in front the rest of the half, at one point leading by as many as seven points after a steal and layup by Will Smith. Still trailing by seven in the final minute, Bennett tallied the final basket of the half to help the Bears go into the break down by just five points at 36-31.

While the Bears shot better from the field in the first 20 minutes at 46.7 to 38.9 percent, they didn't help themselves much with 13 turnovers, which Martin Methodist turned into 10 points.

BEAR FACTS

• Darrion Leslie chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds while shooting 7-of-11 from the field.
• Michael Lewis was accurate as well, connecting on 10-of-16 shots as his 21 points matched a season high scored by a UPIKE player this season.
• Lewis' 16 rebounds and three blocks are also the most recorded by a Bear this season.

UP NEXT

UPIKE continues play in the MSC/SSAC Challenge at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday against Bethel.  

-UPIKE-