Portsmouth, OH – Thursday nights battle of the Bears saw UPIKE extend their win streak to three with a 69-62 victory over Shawnee State. The win improves the Bears to 11-1 overall and 4-1 in the MSC as they look ahead toward the heart of the conference schedule.

The duo of Jacob Brown and Korbin Spencer led the scoring effort for UPIKE, combining for 32 points. Brown had a big first half and finished with 18 points and 4 rebounds. Spencer shot a  4-11clip from the field, connecting on a pair of free throws and snagging 5 rebounds.

Balance was the key for UPIKE in the contest as the Bears had four finish in double digits, with two more scoring at least five. The Bears shot 43% as a team on 25-57 from the field.

The first half opened with both teams quickly getting on the board but UPIKE took control, taking a lead they would carry the entire half. Compton's Bears led by as much as eight points with almost the entirety of the scoring coming in the paint or from the free throw line. Brown led the charge throughout the first 20 minutes, putting up 12 points on five buckets and even adding the Bears lone three pointer.

UPIKE carried a three-point lead into the locker room, shooting 40 percent in the first half on 14-35 from the floor.

The Bears in orange opened the second half with a 9-0 run, going up 43-31 with 17:31 left to play on a splashed three by Maurice Dickson. UPIKE's defense stifled SSU for almost three minutes until Shawnee finally connected on their first layup with 17:11 to go. Shawnee fired back with an 8-0 to catch some momentum and brought the game to within six points headed into the final 14:00.

Taevon Horton and Malik Malone pushed UPIKE back ahead with threes as the Bears maintained a steady lead, scoring still coming mostly on the interior. UPIKE increased the lead to as much as 10 down the stretch with a Darius Love layup giving them a 58-48 lead just outside of the final five minutes. The Bears held on, maintaining a solid defensive pressure and outpaced SSU.

UPIKE men's basketball returns to the hardwood on Saturday, December 18th for a matchup with Thomas More at Appalachian Wireless Arena