PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Junior guard Kyonte Thomas scored a collegiate career high 33 points and senior forward Issac Stanback turned in his ninth double-double as the University of Pikeville knocked off Union College 102-94 in overtime before a raucous crowd Wednesday night at the Appalachian Wireless Arena.  
 
The game was a rematch of UPike's season opener, which Union won 84-81 in overtime in Barbourville.
 
The win moved the Bears to 14-4 on the season, 12-2 in the AAC. The Bears will enter this weekend's play with a 1-1/2 game lead on the Bulldogs and a 2-game advantage on Columbia International (S.C.) University.
 
Tied at 90 with 2:29 left in the extra period, the Bears took command with a 10-0 run. It began with Stanback scoring two layups and hitting a pair from the line. Thomas followed that with two free throws and then an assist on a layup by sophomore Keynan Cutlip to make it 100-90 with 38 seconds left.
 
A four-point play by senior Markelle Turner cut it to six, but sophomore Keian Worrix nailed two free throws with 27 seconds left to set the final score.
 
Much like the November meeting, the Bears jumped out to a quick lead, scoring the first nine of the game. The first five came from Thomas and the final four by sophomore Bradley Bunch, making it 9-0 in only 2:20.
 
Leading 38-25, the Bears went on another run late in the half. Thomas scored half of the 8-0 run that ended with another layup by Bunch, making the score 46-25 with 3:32 left.
 
Union (11-6, 10-3), however, needed only 58 seconds to get most of that back. Senior Anton Mozga hit a free throw before senior Markelo Sullivan had a layup and a three-pointer, and the Bears called timeout with 2:10 left after its lead was trimmed to 46-31.
 
Worrix beat the buzzer with a driving layin, sending the Bears to the break on top 52-35.
 
Thomas went to the half with 25 points for the Bears.
 
Union wasn't ready to pack it in. It came out of the locker room to score the first 11 points of the second period. Senior Deonte Douglas had six of them, including the jumper with 16:58 that pulled the Bulldogs within six at 52-46.
 
The Bulldogs made their first seven three-point shots of the second half and at one point were 18-of-21 from the floor. They turned the 17-point halftime deficit into an eight-point lead, 85-77, with 2:41 left on a Douglas layup.
 
A dunk by senior forward Jay Falls with 2:02 gave the Bulldogs an 87-80 lead. The Bears clamped down, however, and they didn't score again the remainder of regulation.
 
The Bears tied the game and sent it to overtime on the shoulders of Bunch, who was 5-of-5 from the line and, with 23 seconds remaining, found senior Jeremy Dillon inside for the layup to send it to overtime.
 
Thomas was 11-of-16 overall and 4-for-6 from the arc in his career night, while Stanback finished with 26 points and a season-best 16 rebounds.
 
Bunch made all eight of his free throws en route to 20 points while pulling down eight rebounds. His efforts on the glass, combined with Stanback's, enabled the Bears to enjoy a 40-24 advantage in rebounds.
 
Worrix was 10-of-12 from the line to finish with 14 points.
 
Union was led by Douglas, who scored 22 thanks to 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Junior Terrin Hamilton scored 18 while Sullivan tossed in 17 to go with four assists and as many steals.
 
Mozga was 4-of-5 from the arc to finish with 15 while Turner flipped in 11.
 
UPike will be on the road on Saturday when it travels to Elizabethton, Tenn., to play Milligan University. The game is the second of a doubleheader and is slated to begin at 4 p.m.