PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – Shawnee State took control in the second half and spoiled the season finale for UPIKE men's basketball on Saturday, defeating the Bears 85-67.

SSU shot 69 percent in the second half and went to the free throw line 24 times to erase a three-point halftime deficit.

As has been the case against Shawnee State the last couple years, UPIKE struggled against the multiple interior bigs of Shawnee State.

Justin Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, while EJ Onu scored 10 points with 11 rebounds and eight blocks.

UPIKE's scoring was more distributed, with Korbin Spencer leading the way with 11. Four other UPIKE players (DeAndre Barton, Xaviar Gaona, JJ Ramey, and Jazz Parker) each had nine.

Pikeville repeatedly found success in the early going and led by as much as 10 at 28-18 with just over six minutes left before halftime.

The Bears shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half and made four of six 3-point attempts.

Shawnee State essentially took the game in one fell swoop with a 22-2 run across a five-minute span in the second half.

From that point on, UPIKE entered foul trouble and was unable to mount a comeback because of it.

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With the loss, UPIKE finishes in a tie for sixth place in the Mid-South Conference with Lindsey Wilson. Based on the fifth head-to-head tiebreaker (Lindsey Wilson splitting head-to-head against Shawnee State), the Bears will enter the MSC tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face Cumberlands at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Ky.

-UPIKE-