PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Rze Culbreath came off the bench to score 14 points and lead the 19th-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team to a 69-61 win over visiting Shawnee State (Ohio) in each team's Mid-South Conference opener on Saturday.

The win looked improbable on paper as SSU had a 39-26 rebound advantage, outshot UPIKE 44.9 to 40.7 percent from the field and made three more 3-pointers with eight. But Pikeville made the win possible with its physicality, turning up the pressure defensively to force 22 turnovers and getting to the line 26 times, compared to just 12 freebies for SSU.

And then there was Culbreath. The junior's second three of the second half got UPIKE (11-1, 1-0 MSC) within two at 50-48 with 7:21 to play, then his next four minutes later gave Pikeville the lead back at 56-53. The final dagger may have been the best as it came with 13 seconds left and made it a two-possession game at 67-61.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

After falling behind 7-1 to start the game, UPIKE went on to outscore SSU 16-8 and grab its largest lead of the first half at 17-15 with 7:58 on the clock. But after a three by Frederick Moore, Shawnee State went on to lead the game for the next 23 minutes.

Shawnee (5-4, 0-1 MSC) led 34-24 at the half and went up by as many as 12 points in the second half at 42-30 on a three by Jayllen Carter. It was still a double-digit game at 44-33 when Moore hit a pair of free throws, but as UPIKE started its full-court pressure, the deficit quickly began to disappear.

It started with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes, taking an 11-point deficit down to three when Jordan Perry went the distance off an SSU miss and completed a 3-point play. Shawnee State briefly got its lead back to six with 9:05 left, but a 9-3 UPIKE run followed as Darrion Leslie knotted the score at 53 with two free throws four minutes later.

The final two minutes and 36 seconds were all UPIKE's as it went from trailing 59-58 after a three by Carter, to leading 69-61 when Trey Rakes connected on two free throws in the final seconds. It ended up being an 11-2 run for Pikeville to end the game.  

BEAR FACTS

• UPIKE was outscored 15-5 in second-chance points, but made up for it by leading SSU 25-4 in points off turnovers. Pikeville gave away just eight, compared to the 22 turnovers from Shawnee.
• The UPIKE bench should probably be the player of the game as it collectively outscored SSU's 40-12, led by Culbreath's 14 and Jordan Perry tallying 12 points.
• Leslie and Rakes joined the reserves in double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• Moore attacked the glass for SSU all night, finishing with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. On a night when UPIKE struggled to get boards, Leslie fared the best with five.
• Not only did Rakes score 10 points, he also dished out seven assists without a single turnover.
• With the win, UPIKE head coach Kelly Wells is now tied with former Pikeville women's basketball coach Bill Watson for total basketball wins at the school with 242. This was also Wells' 250th win as a collegiate head coach.

Culbreath's career-best 4-of-6 showing from the 3-point line, resulting in a team best 14 points. Each three he hit was huge and seemed to be more important than the last, including the make with 13 seconds left that made it a six-point game.  

UP NEXT

UPIKE hosts No. 2 Georgetown in the East Ky. Expo Center at 8 p.m. ET on Monday.

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