FRANKFORT, Ky. – In what is sure to be a marquee matchup at the event, third-seeded University of Pikeville and No. 2-seed Georgetown are set to meet in the Mid-South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Frankfort Convention Center.
The game can be watched live online, on iOS or on Roku at Backlight TV, while East Ky. Broadcasting's Z1075 FM will have the radio call locally and online with Rick Bentley on play-by-play.
To reach the semifinals, the Bears (25-6) topped No. 6-seed Cumberland (Tenn.) 82-62 and the Tigers (23-6) got past No. 7-seed Campbellsville 75-70 in a tightly contested game down the stretch.
Georgetown is UPIKE's oldest rival as the team's prepare to meet for the 141st time. Georgetown holds a 99-41 advantage in the all-time series and is 8-2 against the Bears in the last 10 meetings. Earlier this season, the Tigers captured a 69-59 win in the East Ky. Expo Center before protecting their home court 64-45 over the Bears on Jan. 26.
After winning 12 straight games spanning November, December and January, the Tigers have gone 2-5 in their last seven outings. Included in that stretch was a 78-72 loss at Shawnee State (Ohio) and 77-76 loss at home against Campbellsville, teams seeded eighth and seventh in the tournament, respectively.
Georgetown ranks in the top 10 of two NAIA statistical categories, including a +4.7 turnover margin which ranks third and 12.9 offensive rebounds per game which are the ninth most nationally. The 68 points per game the Tigers allow is close to the top 10 at No. 11. Individually, Chris Coffey is the fourth best offensive rebounder in the country at 3.7 per game and Trent Gilbert ranks ninth in 3s made per game at 2.9.
Troy Steward, Quan Poindexter, Gilbert and Coffey all average double digits scoring at 16.5, 14.6, 11.5 and 10.5 per game, respectively.
This is UPIKE and Georgetown's eighth time facing each other in the MSC Tournament where the Tigers have a 5-2 record. However, the Bears have won the last two meetings in the 2014 finals and 2013 semifinals. UPIKE has an all-time record of 5-4 in the MSC Tournament semis.
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