HIALEAH, Fla. -- After trailing by eight at halftime, the 14th-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team outscored Florida National by 10 points in the second half to win 79-77 on Wednesday in the first leg of its trip south for the holidays.

The Bears improve to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in road games, while Florida National drops to 6-12.

Jordan Perry poured in a career-high 24 points to go along with three rebounds, while Clint Nwosuh chipped in with 11 points in his first action of the season. Michael Lewis flirted with a double-double with 10 points and six boards, while Trey Rakes tallied a complete four points, four rebounds and three assists.

Antwine Baker failed to score, but made up for it with a team-best eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

Florida National led 11-8 five minutes into the action before slowly pushing ahead by as many as eight in the half, including at 30-22 with 5:25 on the clock and the 40-32 halftime score.

The first five minutes of the second half belonged to the Bears as they outscored the Conquistadors 10-4 to claw within two at 44-42. Seven minutes later it was a one-point game, then the game was eventually tied at 60-60 with 5:24 to play.

UPIKE finally got some breathing room of its own when it went on a 13-5 run over the next three minutes and never on in the final seconds for the two-point win.

BEAR NOTABLES

Jordan Perry: 24 pts, 3 reb

Clint Nwosuh: 11 pts, 2 reb

Michael Lewis: 10 pts, 6 reb, 1 blk

Antwine Baker: 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Darrion Leslie: 11 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast

Trey Rakes: 4 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast

UP NEXT

UPIKE will take on St. Mary (Kan.) at 7 p.m. ET on Friday in Hialeah.

-UPIKE-