Henderson, TN­ – The University of Pikeville men's basketball team lost a nail-biter Thursday night at Freed-Hardeman, 77-74. After trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, the Bears clawed all the way back and tied the game but couldn't get over the hump in the defeat.

Malik Malone scored a season-high 24 points and had 11 rebounds for his first double-double as a Bear. Maurice Dickson had 17 points while Taevon Horton added 10 for UPIKE. Kenyon Duling provided the lone assist for the Bears.

They move to 15-12 after the loss and 8-11 in the Mid-South Conference. Their final game of the regular season comes on Saturday afternoon at Bethel University.

How It Happened
The Lions held the momentum for the majority of the first half, holding a 16-5 lead with 13:44 remaining in the opening 20 minutes. UPIKE cut the lead to just four with 7:34 in the first half with a 14-7 stretch that made it 23-19. Malone, Horton, and Duling all provided four points during the run.

That was as close as the Bears would get in the first half as Freed-Hardeman pushed their lead back to 43-35 heading into the break.

As mentioned, the Lions would lead by as many as 15 at 55-40 with 15:07 remaining in the game. However, with the score at 60-48, UPIKE began to rally. A Christian Sweazie three-pointer got the flurry going, as he would have six points during the run. This 15-4 spark cut the lead to just one at 64-63 with 8:08 remaining.

Six straight points from Kortland Martin gave Freed-Hardeman some breathing room at 70-63, but the Bears wouldn't go away. UPIKE answered with seven straight to tie the game at 70-70 and put some pressure on the Lions. Freed-Hardeman went back up five at 75-70 with 2:18 to play, but UPIKE fought back, and a Malone layup made it 75-74 with just over a minute left.

This was as close as UPIKE would get. The Lions made a few free-throws down the stretch and a last-second three wasn't meant to be for the Bears as they lost 77-74.

What's Up Next
As mentioned, the Bears conclude regular season play on Saturday afternoon against Bethel University at 5:00 p.m. ET in McKenzie, TN. UPIKE is 2-1 against the Wildcats since 2015.