Pikeville, KY – UPIKE men's basketball moved to 10-10 on the season following an impressive win over (20) Thomas More on Saturday afternoon. The game was contested from start to finish and the Bears' victory makes them 2-0 over the Saints this season and improves their conference mark to 8-9.

UPIKE's three point advantage was one in the first half in which the Bears outscored the Saints 40-37, aided by their 70% success rate from the field in the first 20 minutes. The second half was neck and neck, with both teams scoring 42 and it was UPIKE's composure in the final minutes that sealed the win. Overall, Tigh Compton's squad shot a clean 65% from the field on 32-49 and went 3-6 from beyond the arc. UPIKE outrebounded the Saints 25-18 in the win.

Four Bears put double-figures in the scoring column led by senior guard Malcolm Green who finished with 20 points going 7-9 from the floor and 5-6 from the charity stripe. Jamir Simpson added 16 physical points, going 7-10
from the field and grabbing six rebounds. Korbin Spencer also finished with 16 points and added a steal. Jordan Perry made his return against the Saints and hit 4-4 including a pair of threes to finish with 12 points.

The Bears went out to an 8-4 lead in the first four minutes of the contest that featured buckets from Taevon Horton, Simpson, and Spencer. Thomas More answered as the teams traded shots for the next several possessions, tying the game twice. A 6-2 run from 12:24 to 11:08 gave the Bears their largest lead of the ballgame, ahead 21-12 capped off by a tough two from Darius Love.

With 6:13 to play, the Saints had built some momentum and took a 30-25 lead after back to back three pointers. Thomas More had the hot hand from three and hit another with 4:45 remaining in the half which had them ahead by six. Green took matters into his own hands with a driving layup as the clock winded down to 3:00 and again at 1:48 which put the Bears within one possession. In the final minute, UPIKE took advantage of three misses from the Saints and connected on a pair of shots to take a 40-37 lead at the break.

Thomas More tied the game at 42 after hitting capitalizing on a three-point foul, connecting on all three with 17:35 to go. Green came up big again to tie the game just outside of 15:00 followed by back-to-back twos from Simpson to seize the lead for UPIKE once more, making it 54-50.

The Bears had a seven-point lead before another run from the Saints made it a one possession ballgame with 11:23 to go. As the game approached its final minutes, the two teams fought for every possession, tying the game three times. Thomas More successfully brought the game within one point at 1:20 after making a 7-0 run. The Saints had a 79-78 lead with 0:33 remaining before Jacob Brown came up big with an offensive rebound and put-back at the rim. After a Saints technical, Christian Sweazie iced the win going 2-2 from the line.

UPIKE men's basketball sets their sites on (RV) Cumberlands (KY) as they return to Appalachian Wireless Arena on Monday for a 6PM tip against the Patriots.