BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The UPIKE men's basketball season may have come to a heartbreaking close on Saturday, losing an overtime thriller to Cumberlands, 76-73.

UPIKE had the chance to tie the game back and force a second overtime, but the buzzer-beating attempt didn't fall for the Bears.

It took a near buzzer-beater for the Bears to force the first overtime. UPIKE was down 63-60 with 17 seconds left when Jordan Perry found DeAndre Barton open in the corner where he banged home a three with 4.1 seconds left.

UPIKE then forced a tough shot for Cumberlands to force the overtime.

It was an uphill battle for Pikeville nearly from the onset as the Bears couldn't buy a bucket early while Cumberlands was seemingly hitting everything.

UC built as much as a 10-point lead in the first half and led by eight at halftime.

Pikeville's second half comeback was sparked by a big rally from Xaviar Gaona, who scored 12 of his 17 points after halftime. Gaona went on a 5-0 run himself to tie the game at 46 with 8:54 left.

From that point on, the lead changed hands four times before the buzzer beating dramatics.

UPIKE shot 42 percent in the second half to help guide the comeback, while holding Cumberlands to just 26 percent, and scoreless from deep.

Cumberlands built up a four-point lead with 47 seconds left, before Jordan Perry hit UPIKE's fourth 3-pointer of the game to cut the lead to one point. Jordan Perry led the Bears with 22 points in the game.

UC's Steven Fitzgerald hit two free throws to set the scene for Barton's overtime-forcing shot. In the overtime period, neither team led by more than four.

Caleb Taylor converted an and-one with 23 seconds left to take a two-point lead which wouldn't fall for the rest of the game.

UP NEXT

UPIKE's fate now rests in the hands of the NAIA Selection Committee. The bracket for the NAIA National Championship will be revealed on Wednesday, March 11 at 8:00 p.m.

-UPIKE-