PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Jordan Perry poured in a career-high 30 points on 12 of 17 shooting, including making 3 of 4 3-pointers, to lead the sixth-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team to a 91-78 win over Shawnee State on Thursday.

Jayvian Delacruz added 17 points off the bench and pulled down a game-best nine rebounds as well. Chase Parsley finished with seven points, eight assists and two steals.

Frederick Moore paced SSU with 25 points off the bench and Justin Johnson chipped in with 15.

Shawnee State (12-12, 2-6 MSC) scored first, but a minute later Perry drained a 3 and UPIKE never trailed again.

Sure, there were some close moments, like when SSU got within two at 30-28 with 5:28 left in the first half, but Pikeville outscored it 12-2 the rest of the half to lead 42-30 at the break.

Threes helped UPIKE (21-2, 6-2 MSC) take control early, including Perry hitting three of them in the first five minutes, but it was defense that kept it in front.

Shawnee closed the half with nine turnovers, compared to just two for UPIKE. That difference led to Pikeville outscoring it 11-0 in points off turnovers, while also outshooting SSU 46-35 percent from the field.

Shawnee looked lost offensively over the final five minutes, going without a field goal in that span and taking a shot clock violation on its final possession.   

Five minutes into the second half, UPIKE had only added four points to its lead at 57-41. But a quick 5-0 spurt followed on a Perry dunk and Michael Chambers layup to get to the largest lead yet of 21 points with 13:23 to play.

Shawnee pushed to get back in the game over the next three minutes, rallying for an 8-0 run that started with a Selby Hind-Wills jumper and ended with a lay in from Moore. A pretty spin move in the paint by Da'Rell Domineck ended the run and put Pikeville back in front by 15 with 10 minutes to play.

UPIKE had that same lead five minutes later and wasn't showing any sign of slowing down. But Darrion Leslie picked up his fifth foul with 3:38 on the clock, and even though he only had five points, his defense was immediately missed as Shawnee cut its deficit to 13 on the next possession.

A minute later, Moore buried a 3 to get it to 11, but the bad news for Shawnee was that Perry was still on the floor. The sophomore got to the cup for buckets on two straight trips, reaching 30 points for the game on the second, while making sure UPIKE stayed in front by double digits.  

UP NEXT

UPIKE steps outside of Mid-South Conference play at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday against Simmons in the East Ky. Expo Center.

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