Pikeville, KY – The University of Pikeville men's basketball team clawed their way past Life University Saturday afternoon in the Appalachian Wireless Arena, 55-49. After leading by one-point at the break, the Bears held off the Running Eagles in the second half en route to a big Mid-South Conference victory. A 13-0 run sealed the deal for UPIKE after trailing 49-42 with under seven minutes to play.

Leading the way was Korbin Spencer with 12 points while Maurice Dickson added 10. Dickson also electrified the crowd with a pair of highlight dunks during the contest. Spencer and Darius Love both grabbed a team-high six rebounds and dished out a team-high two assists.

The win improves UPIKE to 13-4 this season and 6-3 in the MSC to vault them into fourth place in the conference.

How It Happened
The Bears took a quick seven-point lead at 13-6 that included six Dickson points. Life would come right back with a 9-0 run to take a 15-13 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the opening half.

The two teams would continue to trade points throughout the half as the Running Eagles held a slim 26-25 lead with under three minutes to play. A Taevon Horton tip-in off a missed layup was the difference heading into the half with the Bears up 27-26.

Things were all square in the second half at 37-37 with 11:26 to play when Life tried to run away with the game. Four Chris Barnes points piloted a 12-5 flurry to give the Running Eagles their largest lead of the game at 49-42. These would be the last points that Life would score in the game.

UPIKE grabbed two huge offensive rebounds to help get them four points during a 7-0 run to tie the game at 49-49. One came from Kevin Bishop II which led to a layup before a Dickson board allowed him to get to the free-throw line and knock down a pair. Bishop II also contributed a steal while the other three points came on a Jordan Perry and one.

The final six points came from a combination of Spencer, Dickson, and Bishop II which included one of the highlight dunks from Dickson to bring the crowd to their feet. The Bears would win the game 55-49.

Inside The Box Score
This is the least amount of points the Bears have scored in a win since Nov. 19, 2005, where they beat the University of Rio Grande 38-36 in Pikeville.

The Bears effort was a big part of their win this afternoon. They scored 15 points off turnovers while forcing 12. They had 12 second-chance points and tied a season-high with 13 offensive rebounds. They also had 13 fast break points, 32 points in the paint, and six steals in the win.

What's Up Next
The Bears hit the road for their next game on Monday afternoon, traveling to Columbia, KY to take on the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders for the first time this season at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

The last time these two teams met was a 93-87 UPIKE win on Feb. 13, 2021. The Bears have won seven of the last 10 meetings in the series.