Pikeville, Ky. – Men's basketball battled back in the second half but fell 86 to 76 in a tough conference matchup with Bethel on Thursday night.
Korbin Spencer led the Bears with 30 points, shooting a clean 55% from the floor. The junior shot 4-5 from the charity stripe and added five rebounds. Teddy Parham Jr. dropped 18 points, shooting 5-15 from the floor and dished out three assists.
A major factor for the Wildcats was their ability to score in the paint, outscoring the Bears 44-34 up close. Neither team had much success from deep with the Bears shooting 5-24 and the Wildcats hitting 6-16 from three.
Bethel fired out of the gate with a three pointer which opened up to an 11-2 run, holding the Bears to just a single shot by way of Devin Collins. Spencer took over after getting his first bucket at 16:37, scoring seven straight points including a Keian Worrix-assisted three. Back-to-back buckets from Jacob Brown tied the game at 13-13 with just over 14 minutes to go and the battle was on. The teams traded the lead for two possessions until Bethel caught a break on a high-bouncing three which gave them a 20-15 lead.
Bethel scored consecutive buckets coming out of a timeout around the 10:00 mark, claiming a nine-point 28-19 lead. UPIKE struggled to score, going two minutes before Parham Jr. ended the drought with a layup. Empty possessions haunted the Bears, giving up a pair of put-back opportunities. As the clock ran past 4:00 to play in the half, the Wildcats had built an 11-point lead. Bethel took a 49-29 lead into the halftime break.
UPIKE's defense held the Wildcats scoreless to open the second half, earning a pair of trips to the free throw line on the other end. The Bears forced a turnover at the 18:15 mark, as Spencer converted the fast break and UPIKE was set on a comeback run. Defensively, UPIKE worked to limit the Bethel offense and forced a handful of empty possessions. The Bears desperately needed a three and Parham Jr. answered at the 15:30 mark, cutting the Wildcat lead to 13.
Coming out of a timeout with 11:20 left, Spencer drilled a three to cut the lead to less than 10. On the next possession, Spencer grabbed a tough board on the offensive glass and finished the and-one putback to make it 58-52. Parham Jr. drew a foul on the following possession and drained both as the Bears had outscored the Wildcats 8-1 in the span of 1:22.
The back-and-forth continued and with 6:40 left, a pair of Spencer free throws had the Bears within six points. After a defensive stop, Worrix drew a foul and converted on both free throws to make it a four-point, 66-64 game. With just 2:10 remaining, Parham Jr. drove the lane for a bucket to make it 76-70.
A timeout at the 1:38 mark gave UPIKE a chance to set a plan for the final minute comeback effort. A jump ball gave Bethel possession, and the Wildcats converted on a layup to go up eight points with under a minute to play.
UPIKE men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, January 21 as they take on (8) Freed-Hardeman at 3:30 PM in the UPIKE Gym.
