BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Senior guard Teddy Parham Jr. led the Mid-South Conference in scoring this season and showed why on Saturday afternoon, pouring in season high 34 in a 79-72 win over Shawnee State.
The win sent the fifth-seeded University of Pikeville to the semifinals of its final Mid-South Conference tournament, while ending Shawnee State's time in the league. Both teams will be in other NAIA conferences when next season begins.
Parham averaged 17.7 points per game but had 16 in by the half on Saturday. He got help from freshman Bradley Bunch, who scored 16 while doubling his season high with four three-pointers in the win. Fellow freshman Keian Worrix had 10 points to join them in double digits.
Far from one-dimensional, Parham had eight rebounds and five assists in the win.
UPIKE improved to 19-11 on the season by hitting 53.2 percent overall and going 11-of-20 (55 percent) on three-point tries. It also sank 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) from the line. The Bears will play Georgetown College at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Shawnee shot 37.3 percent overall and 17.9 percent from the arc. It hung around thanks to its work on the glass, where 14 of its 31 boards off the offensive glass. It will await the national tournament bid announcements with a record of 17-12.
A pair of nice runs around the first media timeout put the Bears in front early. The first was a 9-2 stretch that came just after Shawnee State had taken an 8-5 lead. Four different Bears scored, and when junior guard Korbin Spencer scored on a layup with 12:50 left, UPIKE led 14-10.
After a pair of free throws temporarily slowed the Bears, they began another stretch after the timeout. This time it was a 10-3 outburst that included two triples by Parham, and when he sank two free throws with 8:48 left in the half, UPIKE led 24-15.
The lead grew as big as 13, 35-22, when Bunch hit a corner three with 5:57 left. From there, Shawnee scored eight of the last 11 of the half, and when Brandon Beavers scored on a layup with 1:35 left, UPIKE took a 38-30 lead to intermission.
Shawnee kept the momentum going early in the second half. After grad student Jacob Brown opened the half with a free throw, Shawnee scored seven straight, getting five from junior Tre Baumgardner III, to pull within two at 39-37.
Two baskets by sophomore Latavious Mitchell with 15:09 left got Shawnee within one, 45-44. But it would get no closer. Parham hit a three followed by two free throws, and when Spencer sank a 15-foot jumper, the lead was back to 52-44 with 12:40 left.
Shawnee would get no closer than three the rest of the way. UPIKE hit 5-of-6 from the line in the final 37.5 to help seal the win.
Baumgardner led Shawnee State with 22 points, while Mitchell finished with 19 and 12 rebounds. Brandon Beavers followed with 12.
--UPIKE--
