Pikeville, Ky. – Men's basketball pulled out a 66-65 victory in a thrilling matchup against Cumberland University Saturday afternoon. The Bears led for over 26 minutes in the contest, with Cumberland tying the game twice in the final two minutes of play.

Eight Bears scored in the contest, led by Teddy Parham Jr. who finished with 19 points on 5-14 shooting. Devin Collins checked in with 13 points, including a pair of pivotal three pointers in the second half. Collins also led the Bears with a season-high eight rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass.

Jacob Brown finished with 10 points, while Korbin Spencer dropped nine. Spencer inches closer to his 1000^th career point, now with 971 since his career began in 2019. The point guard tandem of Spencer and Keian Worrix continued to prove fruitful as Worrix led the Bears with five assists, also scoring six points.

The two teams battled back-and-forth in the opening minutes, with Cumberland taking a slight lead before a Brown layup tied the game at 5-5. The Phoenix shot 5-7 in the next four minutes, taking a 16-9 lead with 13:59 to go in the half. It took the Bears five minutes to battle back, tying the game once again at 21-21 with 8:43 to go after a run led by Elijah Herron, capped by a three from Parham Jr.

Parham Jr. hit his second consecutive three on the next possession to give UPIKE the lead, one they wouldn't lose for the remainder of the half. The Bears stretched the lead to as much as 13 points, heading into the break ahead 40-27 after another three from Parham Jr. with 0:20 to go.

The first eight minutes of the second half were closely contested, with the Bears outscoring the Phoenix 11-10 in the span, led by Collins who scored six. Mark Vance Jr. and Bradley Bunch added buckets over the next couple minutes as the Bears held a 54-40 lead with 10:24 to go.

A critical stretch from the Phoenix saw them go on a 6-1 run which cut the lead in half, making it 57-50 with 6:59 to play. The Phoenix went 3-3 from the field over the next three minutes and trailed by just three at the 3:23 mark.  

A Cumberland three pointer with 1:34 to go tied the game at 63-63, forcing a timeout from the Bears. The Bears drew a foul on the next Phoenix possession, enabling a Spencer assisted layup from Brown to return the lead with 0:29 on the clock.
Cumberland tied the game once again at 65, but a foul with 0:02 seconds remaining put Parham at the line where he hit one of two to seal the game.

UPIKE men's basketball improves to 10-7 on the season, 6-5 in MSC play. The Bears are currently sixth in the conference behind Tennessee Southern with the same record.

The Bears return to play on Thursday, January 12^th for a MSC battle against Georgetown College. Tip-off between the Bears and Tigers is slated for 7:30 PM at Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, Ky. Thursday's contest is also Community Trust Bank Night in the arena, and fans are encouraged to attend and participate in a chance to win prizes.