MSC Championship Bracket | MSC Release

Bowling Green, KY – UPIKE men's bowling has captured the 2021 MSC Championship after a tournament run that included a revival in the losers bracket followed by back-to-back wins against Bethel on Saturday. This is the second consecutive title and the fourth in program history.

After finishing the regular season with a record of 52-13, the Bears held a three seed entering the tournament and faced Union College in the opening round. Coach Wilson's squad made quick work of the Bulldogs, sweeping the four baker games totaling 712 pins.

Up next on Friday was Blue Mountain who entered the tournament seeded 11^th. The Bears opened the set with an impressive 234 to 184 victory before dropping in game two. UPIKE went on to win three straight to advance in the bracket, beating out Blue Mountain 1041-820 in five games. Life was the third opponent and would fall victim to a 4-0 sweep from UPIKE.

After the sweep of the Running Eagles, UPIKE went on to face Bethel. The Wildcats would open with three straight wins before the Bears won 235-186 in game four. UPIKE won the fifth game but fell in game six to drop to the losers bracket.

The Bears swept Thomas More in the losers bracket to earn a birth to the conference title match. On Sunday, UPIKE had to win two games against Bethel to secure the championship, and they did just that. The first match was a seven game affair that began with a Bethel win before UPIKE won three straight. The Wildcats bounced back for a pair of games but the Bears sealed the win in game seven, forcing the if-neccesary final match.

In the final match of the championship, Bethel opened with a 190-152 win in the first game and the Bears answered with a 223-157 victory in game two followed by a 209-179 win in the third game. Bethel took games four and five, but fell in the sixth game, setting the stage for game seven. The final bout did not disappoint and resulted in a four pin victory for the Bears, claiming the 2021 MSC Championship.

UPIKE men's bowling receives an automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Bowling National Championships held March 25-27 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.