PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- The 12th-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team made it tough for Campbellsville, shooting 51 percent from the field and hitting all 17 of its free throws on the way to a 76-60 win in a game it never trailed on Saturday.

While the Tigers (9-6, 1-2 MSC) heated up some in the final 20 minutes - shooting 44 percent from the field - they still tallied just a 37.5 percent mark for the game. The slow start allowed UPIKE to take advantage to the tune of a 20-point lead with eight minutes to play.

In fact, Campbellsville never got within single digits of the Bears (16-3, 2-2 MSC) in the second half, coming as close as 11 points twice, including at 64-53 after a quick 5-0 run at the 4:06 mark of the second half.

Darrion Leslie and Jordan Perry paced the Bears with 13 points each, while Richard Freeman joined them in double figures with 10 off the bench. UPIKE ended the game with a 39-10 advantage in bench scoring and outrebounded Campbellsville 37-27.

Hagen Tyler led all scorers with 22 points as he shot 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Rod Lawrence and Andre Applewhite chipped in with 10 each for the Tigers.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

After watching the Tigers rattle off the first five points of the game, UPIKE clamped down on defense and went on a 10-0 run during a two-minute span that Campbellsville arguably never recovered from. They got within five at the 10:43 mark of the first half, but a 6-0 UPIKE spurt followed.

Campbellsville's last time being within single digits came with 1:49 left in the opening half at 32-23, but starting with two Marshall Bennett freebies, UPIKE outscored Campbellsville 6-0 the rest of the half to take a  38-23 lead into halftime.

UPIKE slowly built its lead to 20 with eight minutes left to play and didn't allow the Tigers to get closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Apart from the tie at 5-5, the Bears led the game for over 39 and a half minutes.   

UP NEXT

The Bears travel to Columbia, Ky., to take on Lindsey Wilson at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.

-UPIKE-