Pikeville, KY – The University of Pikeville men's basketball team dropped a tightly contested game at home Saturday afternoon to Shawnee State University, 72-68. UPIKE found themselves down by two with just 1:24 left to play, but Shawnee State snuck away with a victory in the Appalachian Wireless Arena.

Jacob Brown led the Bears with 12 points in the game while Maurice Dickson, Kenyon Duling, Jordan Perry, and Korbin Spencer all finished with nine points. Brown also led with seven rebounds and Spencer led the team with four assists.

UPIKE drops to 14-8 overall this season and 7-7 in the Mid-South Conference. They play again on Monday against University of the Cumberlands on the road.

How It Happened
After the game was tied 10-10 early on, UPIKE took their largest lead at 25-13 after a 15-3 run. Darius Love and Perry both had four points during this stretch for the Bears.

Shawnee State than answered right back with a 17-6 run of their own to cut the lead to just one at 31-30. A late Duling three gave the Bears a four-point lead heading into the half at 34-30. Spencer and Dickson led the charge for UPIKE over the first twenty minutes with six points each.

Shawnee State stormed out of the locker room and took their first lead since it was 11-10 with an Amier Gilmore layup making it 38-36 with 17:10 remaining. They would continue to extend their lead, taking an eight-point advantage after a pair of Gilmore free-throws made it 49-41.

However, UPIKE came right back into it with an 8-0 run to tie it up at 49-49 with 11:19 to play. Kevin Bishop II had five and Spencer had four during the flurry. Shawnee State would snatch the momentum right back though, using an 11-4 run to make it 60-53. The Bears used one final run to tie the game back up at 60-60 with under five minutes remaining. Duling had four points during the streak.

Shawnee State would than take the final lead of the game with 4:17 remaining and never look back. UPIKE cut it to two on a pair of occasions but couldn't tie it up or take the lead, before falling 72-68.

What's Up Next
As mentioned, the Bears travel to Williamsburg, KY to take on University of the Cumberlands Monday night at 8:00 p.m.

UPIKE beat Cumberlands at home last month, 83-76, with four players scoring in double-figures. The Bears have won six of the last 10 meetings between the two schools, with three of the wins coming in Williamsburg.