PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Sophomore guard Keian Worrix fired in 23 points to lead the University of Pikeville to an 84-72 win over Truett McConnell University on Tuesday night at Appalachian Wireless Arena.
 
The Pikeville product also had four steals and a pair of assists in only 23 minutes of action to lead the Bears to their fifth straight win.
 
UPike enjoyed a hot-shooting first half, nailing 56.7 percent of its shots and going 6-of-10 from the arc. Three of those triples came on three tries from senior Jeremy Dillon.
 
Pikeville closed out the half with an 8-2 run. Sophomore Keynan Cutlip made the most of his first collegiate start, began things with a layup. Dillon fired in another three, and Cutlip closed out scoring with a three of his own.
 
The stretch took only 1:18 off the clock and sent the teams to the half with UPike holding a 42-29 lead.
 
UPike had a 58-47 lead after two Cutlip free throws with 12:42 left when Truett made a run. It started with a layup by senior Cory Seitz, followed by a three-point play by senior E.J. Smith.
 
After a layup by junior Kyonte Thomas for UPike, senior K.J. Riley sank two free throws, and, after a layup by junior Raul Arias-Ortega, Riley nailed a jumper.
 
In the end, Truett had an 11-2 run over 3:29 had cut the lead to 60-58 with 9:12 left.
 
Two minutes later, however, the Bears had an 11-0 run of its own to pull away. Worrix was the catalyst, scoring six for his team, and the run pushed the lead to 73-59 with 5:21 remaining in the game.
 
Worrix led six Bears in double figures. Thomas, Cutlip, Dillon and senior Issac Stanback all tossed in 12 points. Stanback led the Bears with eight rebounds while Thomas had seven and dished out seven assists while Dillon had seven boards as well.
 
Sophomore Bradley Bunch finished with 10 points.
 
Riley led TMU with 20. Smith followed with 14 points, while freshman Jadon Yeh had 11 while senior Akil Covington tossed in 10.
 
 UPike is back in action on Saturday, travelling to Kingsport, Tenn., to play in The Show. The Bears will face Ave Maria (Fla.) University at 12:45 and then battle Southeastern (Fla.) University on Sunday at 12:45.
 
The event is held at the MeadowView Marriott Convention Center & Conference Resort.