PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- In its second game of the season, the shooting got better and the defense stayed locked in, as the 14th-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team put Florida National away in the second half in a 110-85 win in UPIKE Gym.
The Bears (2-0) never trailed in the game, but were only up by eight at 43-35 a minute before halftime. It wasn't until a 20-5 run midway through the second half that UPIKE blew things open.
Back-to-back 3s by Fabian Macdonald got the Conquistadors (0-2) within three at the 15:47 mark, but a 3 of his own by Basil Thompson got the Bears started on their game-changing spurt. A 7-0 run later, including a dunk by Darrion Leslie, UPIKE's lead was back into double figures at 59-49.
The lead reached its apex at 33 points on a put back by Evan Runkel with 1:33 to play. The lopsided score was the result of UPIKE shooting 56.4 percent in the second half and hitting four 3s. A pair of 11-2 and 10-2 runs in the final six minutes didn't hurt either as the Bears had the advantage of a deeper bench that outscored FNU's 37-21.
Leslie led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Jordan Perry added 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Rodney Hawkins added eight points, 11 boards and three blocks. Jayvian Delacruz with 14 points and Thompson with 13 also scored in double figures.
Christopher Hall paced Florida National with 20 points and Terence Johnson chipped in with 18.
UPIKE led by 10 early on at 20-10, but an 8-2 Florida National run followed to make it a two-point game. After getting back in front by double digits about 10 minutes later, UPIKE kept it there until the 1:24 mark of the first half when Jose Benitez was fouled on a 3 and made all of his free throws to get within eight.
Free throws, however, are what helped Florida National stay close until the late blowout, knocking down 25 of 28 attempts. The Bears didn't shoot as good of a percentage, but got to the stripe more, hitting 31 of 43.
UPIKE tallied a 49-37 lead on the glass and swatted away six shots while FNU failed to register a block.
-UPIKE-
