Huntington, W. Va. – Men's basketball matched up with Marshall University Wednesday evening in the teams' final exhibition match of the season. UPIKE battled in several ways down the stretch but fell by a final score of 83-69.

"We're excited to have an opponent to really scout, review, and get information on," said Coach Compton during pregame, "We have a lot of new guys and these exhibitions serve as great opportunities to work them into our patterns on the court as well as show them what the process looks like when we go on the road. We are extremely excited to have this opportunity again this year and it's a great experience for our team."

One of the storylines heading into the contest was UPIKE newcomer Devin Collins, who spent three seasons with The Herd starting in 2019-20. The 6'8" guard didn't disappoint in his return to Cam Henderson Center, leading the Bears with 15 points. Collins went 5-12 from the field and added three shots from deep in the effort.

Shaunn Monroe finished with double digits in his second straight game, laying down a statline of 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Jacob Brown showed off his efficiency up close, connecting on five of seven attempts from the field and wrangling three rebounds. Korbin Spencer finished with nine points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Marshall carried momentum the majority of the opening half, outscoring the Bears 47-27 to take a 20-point lead into the break. A highlight for UPIKE was three-point shooting in the first as the Bears hit 50% from deep. Jacob Brown opened the contest with a layup which was followed on the next possession by Collins who struck from three to give the Bears a 5-2 advantage.

A jumper from Collins at the 16:00 mark gave the Bears a 9-7 lead but Marshall answered with a 12-2 run over the next several minutes to shift the momentum.
On the flipside of halftime, all seemed to remain the same as Marshall built a 27-point lead throughout the first 10 minutes. After a fastbreak conversion from Mark Vance, the Bears embarked on a 15-5 run which dwindled the lead to as low as 12. The run saw several Bears capitalize on minutes including Keynan Cutlip who displayed his tenacity on the offensive boards and drained a triple. Bradley Bunch drained a three and DaMay Jones added three points and a pair of rebounds.

The next battle for the Bears takes them to Mount Vernon, Ohio for the MVNU Classic. The tournament begins on Friday, November 11^th as the Bears face Penn State Greater Allegheny and wraps up on Saturday with a matchup against Olivet Nazarene.