KINGSPORT, Tenn. – They call this event The Show, the three-day showcase of NAIA basketball. They could have just as easily reserved that moniker for the UPike Bears.
 
UPike wrapped up play in the event with a 79-51 win over No. 7 Life (Ga.) University at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center.
 
The Bears, who were receiving votes in the most recent poll, are now 8-2 and winners of seven straight.
 
The teams traded baskets in the early stages and were tied at 14 midway through the period. The Bears then turned it on, hitting all four shots and a pair of threes in a 14-3 run that took 3:29 off the clock.
 
Five Bears scored in the stretch, with Rylee Samons tossing in five, and when Jaylan Rigdon sank a free throw with 6:27 left in the half, UPike led 28-17.
 
The rest of the half saw the teams get back to trading baskets, with neither scoring more than five straight.
 
LA Walker hit two free throws with three seconds left to send the Bears to the half with a 44-33 lead.
 
After the teams traded baskets to start the second half, the Bears had a 2:48 stretch that effectively put the game away. They scored 13 unanswered points, thanks largely to going 7 of 7 from the line.
 
They also forced the Running Eagles into three turnovers and misses on all three shots. Keynan Cutlip had five in the outburst, including the layup that made it 59-35 with 15:55 remaining.
 
Zion Blevins led a balanced attack that put four players in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds. Bradley Bunch followed with 13 points and seven rebounds on the day he passed three players on the all-time scoring list, moving into 16^th place.
 
Rigdon also flipped in 13, a team-high four assists and three rebounds. Cutlip had 11, seven rebounds and three assists.
 
Life (7-3) had only one player reach double figures, as Shane Stevenson scored 14 and pulled down seven rebounds.
 
UPike will have a few days off before seeing the floor again on Saturday, Dec. 6, when it travels to Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.) University for a 4 p.m. tip against the Pioneers.