Huntington, WV – The University of Pikeville men's basketball team dropped their exhibition game Sunday afternoon on the road at Marshall University, 86-59. The Thundering Herd held a slim 30-27 lead at the break but used a 19-8 run to start the second half and never looked back in the victory.

UPIKE was led in the game by Taevon Horton, who went 6-12 from the field while knocking down four threes en route to a team-high 16 points. Korbin Spencer led the Bears with seven rebounds and six assists.

After the quality showing in Huntington, the Bears return to action on Friday when they host Appalachian Bible College in Pikeville.

Back And Forth First Half
Marshall jumped out to an 11-4 lead over the first six minutes of the contest before UPIKE began to claw back into the game. Malik Malone and Kevin Bishop II combined for all eight points in the Bears run that gave them a 12-11 lead. A Christian Sweazie three made it 15-12 with 8:50 to play in the half.

Both teams continued to trade points before UPIKE took their largest lead of the game off a Kenyon Duling three, which made it 25-21 with just over four minutes to play in the opening half. The Bears led 27-24, but the Thundering Herd went into halftime on a 6-0 run to give them the 30-27 advantage.

Pulling Away
As mentioned, Marshall came out firing in the second half, using a 19-8 push to give them a 49-35 lead with 12:34 to play. A Bishop II layup cut it to 10 with 11:19 to play, but the Thundering Herd would ultimately be too much for the Bears to overcome.

Inside The Box Score
UPIKE won the battle in points off turnovers (13-10) and second-chance points (17-10) in the game. They knocked down 22 shots in the contest, with nine being three-pointers. They continue to force turnovers, with nine steals in the game after recording 21 in their first two games.

What's Up Next
As mentioned, UPIKE returns to the court Friday evening at the Appalachian Wireless Arena when they host Appalachian Bible College at 6:00 p.m.