Williamsburg, KY – The University of Pikeville men's basketball team lost to University of the Cumberlands Monday night at the O. Wayne Rollins Center, 72-57. The Patriots led from the start in this one and never looked back en route to their victory.

Korbin Spencer and Kenyon Duling both scored 13 points to lead UPIKE in the contest. Malik Malone and Kevin Bishop II led with five rebounds while Jordan Perry dished out four assists to lead the team.

The Bears drop to 14-9 overall after the loss and 7-8 in the Mid-South Conference. They return to action at home Thursday night against Lindsey Wilson College.

How It Happened
After the Patriots took a five-point lead early on, the Bears worked it back to a 14-14 game with 12:26 remaining in the first half. Jacob Brown had six points during this stretch while Spencer added four. Cumberlands then ended the first half on a 22-7 run to take a 36-21 advantage into the halftime break.

UPIKE struggled to get anything going in the second half, trailing 63-50 before they began to make a late push. A Malone tip-in was followed by a Duling jumper to cut the lead to nine points, the closest it had been since there was 3:34 left in the first half.

However, the Patriots pushed their lead back out to 13 with under two minutes to play and would come away with the 72-57 triumph.

Inside The Box Score
Duling had a strong second half for the Bears with 12 points and three rebounds while Malone added a solid seven points and five rebounds during the final twenty minutes. Duling and Spencer are second on the team with 220 points while Dickson has 222 and Brown is at an even 200 points for the season.

UPIKE also outshot Cumberlands from the field in the second half, 48.4 to 42.4%.

What's Up Next
The Bears return to the UPIKE Gym Thursday night for an 8:00 p.m. tip with the visiting Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders, who they beat in Columbia, 66-54 on January 24th.

UPIKE comes into the game having beaten Lindsey Wilson seven of the last 10 times the teams have played, including the last 10 meetings in Pikeville.