PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Darrion Leslie poured in 18 points on 50 percent shooting and Michael Lewis tied a career high with 18 rebounds to lead 14th-ranked University of Pikeville to a 71-59 win over Lindsey Wilson on Saturday.

The Blue Raiders had gone 14 games without scoring in the 50's, but have now lost two straight games with totals of 55 and 59 points. Oddly enough, LWC actually outshot UPIKE 46.7 to 44.6 from the field, but its 22 turnovers just gave the Bears too many chances.

UPIKE (23-6, 8-5 MSC) ended up with four more made shots, including an extra 3-pointer, and made three more free throws (16-13). Allowing second-chance baskets also haunted LWC as it was outscored 14-7 in that category thanks to a 13-7 lead on the offensive glass for the Bears.

Dmitry Utolin was the only Blue Raider (18-10, 5-7 MSC) to score in double figures with 12 points, followed by D.J. Lambert and Charles Sutton adding nine each. Utolin and Bryan Wallace each grabbed six boards.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

UPIKE never trailed in the game, but that's not to say it was always smooth sailing. The Bears let an early 25-14 lead slide away as Lindsey Wilson outscored it 8-0 over a three-minute span to make it a 3-point game. However, UPIKE answered right back with nine straight points to help get to its 36-27 halftime lead.

It was that kind of game for the Blue Raiders as they got the deficit down to seven early in the second half before watching it balloon back to 15 points three minutes later. A 9-2 run later in the half got it back down to eight, but once again the Bears weren't interested in giving up a comeback as they went on a 10-2 spurt to lead by 16 with 3:57 to play.

Part of that run was a sequence where Clint Nwosuh knocked down a jumper to go ahead by 11, followed by LWC's Nic Brown picking up a technical foul on the next possession after a foul call. UPIKE scored seven of the next nine points after that call and kept its lead in double digits until the final minute.

Lindsey Wilson would go on to score seven unanswered points late in the game, but in the end it wasn't enough as Leslie made two freebies and got a layup off a steal to put the game away.

UP NEXT

UPIKE moves on to senior day at 4 p.m. ET next Saturday against Cumberlands in the regular-season finale at the Expo Center.

-UPIKE-