PULASKI, Tenn. -- Bethel's tear through the MSC/SSAC Challenge continued on Friday, following up an upset of No. 11 Campbellsville with another win over a ranked opponent, topping the 19th-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team 86-66.
The Wildcats are now 6-0 with back-to-back wins over teams expected to challenge for an MSC title. It's UPIKE's first loss of the season, dropping to 9-1 with its worst loss since falling by 21 points at Campbellsville in 2014.
While the teams shot a similar percentage from the field, there were big differences from behind the arc and in turnovers. The Wildcats knocked down eight 3-pointers, compared to just three by UPIKE, and the Bears gave up 21 turnovers, which turned into 23 Bethel points.
Bethel also made five extra free throws, shooting 24-of-35 from the stripe, compared to 19-of-30 for the Bears.
Marshall Bennett paced UPIKE with 16 points off the bench and Richard Freeman and Darrion Leslie chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Leslie and Michael Lewis grabbed five rebounds each as the Bears held a slight 33-32 lead on the glass.
Three of Bethel's starters reached double figures scoring, led by Isaac Edmondson with 22 points and Andrew Rogan and Darren Davidson tallying 19 points each.
Bethel led for 37 of the 40 minutes played as UPIKE held its last lead at 4-3 on a layup by Freeman. The Wildcats took over for good at 6-4 after a three by Rogan and pushed the lead to double digits at 26-16 with 9:07 left in the first half.
The Wildcats went on a 13-0 run over a three-minute span in the opening half before taking a 44-33 lead into halftime.
Eleven points was as close as UPIKE got in the second half at 53-42 with 12:40 to play on a Trey Rakes 3-pointer. But an 8-0 Wildcat run followed, allowing them to keep the lead in the 20's from the nine-minute mark on. The biggest gap was 26 points at 79-53 with 4:21 on the clock.
UP NEXT
UPIKE wraps up play in the MSC/SSAC Challenge at Noon ET on Saturday against No. 22 Faulkner. The Mid-South Conference currently leads the Southern States Athletic Conference 3-2 in the challenge.
-UPIKE-
