Pikeville, KY – The University of Pikeville men's basketball team won their opening round game of the Mid-South Conference Tournament Tuesday night against Campbellsville University in the UPIKE Gym, 75-71. After holding a 10-point lead at the break, the Tigers hung around throughout the second half and forced the Bears to claw their way to victory.

Korbin Spencer led the team with 15 points while Taevon Horton (14), Kenyon Duling (13), and Jacob Brown (12) all added double-digit points in the win. Maurice Dickson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while Duling had a game-high four assists.

UPIKE will return to the court on Saturday afternoon for an afternoon game against the top-seeded Thomas More University Saints in the tournament quarterfinals.

How It Happened
The Bears got off to a hot start in this one, taking a 12-6 lead after knocking down a pair of threes to lead the charge. The lead grew to nine with 8:00 left in the first half after a Christian Sweazie three made it 22-13.

The Bears were electric from beyond the arc in the first half, knocking down seven threes on 13 attempts. A Horton three in the final seconds would give UPIKE a 40-30 lead heading into the locker room.

The Bears would take their largest lead of the game at 49-34 with 16:52 to play after a Spencer jumper. The Tigers would then begin to sneak their way back into the game. They used a 13-3 run over a four-minute stretch to cut the lead to just five at 52-47. Malachi De Sousa led the charge with five points.

The Bears would answer and a Darius Love three pushed the UPIKE lead back out to 12 points at 61-49 with 8:04 remaining. Another charge from Campbellsville ensued that was led by De Sousa and Peyton Broughton and brought the game within a bucket at 63-61 with 3:46 left. The lead would stay within seven for the remainder of the contest.

A three-point play from Horton gave the Bears the momentum back and eventually forced the Tigers to foul late in the game. UPIKE gave them some life with a few missed free throws, but the Bears eventually hung on and picked up the 75-71 win.

Inside The Box Score
This is the 14th straight win for UPIKE over Campbellsville at home. The streak started during the 2010-11 national championship season.

The nine threes the Bears knocked down are the most in a game this season since Jan. 31 at home against Freed-Hardeman where they made 10.

Despite three ties, the Bears never relinquished their lead in the victory.

MSC Quarterfinals | Saturday, February 26th

UPIKE will move on to play Thomas More University on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 ET/ 12:30 CT at the Bowling Green Arena. UPIKE lost to the Saints earlier this season at home, 81-70 in the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Dec. 18, 2021.

The winner of UPIKE vs. Thomas More will advance to the semifinals and take on the winner of Cumberland University and University of the Cumberlands on Sunday, February 27th at 6:30 ET/ 5:30 p.m. CT.  

Tickets to attend the Bears quarterfinal matchup in the 2022 MSC Championship must be purchased in advance. Tickets are $12.00 and can be purchased here.