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02-23-2018, 12:08 PM
MARIETTA, Ga. -- For 34 minutes it was a back-and-forth battle, but that test made the final six sweet for the third-ranked University of Pikeville men's basketball team as it pulled away to beat No. 21 Life X-X on Thursday.
With the win, UPIKE claims its fourth Mid-South Conference Regular-Season Championship since joining the league for the 2000-01 season.
Three of the championships have been won in the past five seasons under 12th-year head coach Kelly Wells and this is the third time the Bears have had the title to themselves after tying with Campbellsville in 2014-15.
Jordan Perry led the Bears with 27 points and Michael Chambers added 20 off the bench. Perry hit three of UPIKE's four 3-pointers as it outshot Life 54-51 percent from the field. In a game where both teams hit 27 free throws and rebounding was nearly even, it came down to the Bears taking care of the ball with only seven turnovers and strong shooting from the field to make the difference.
Undra Mitchen led all scorers with 28 points for Life.
UPIKE (26-3, 10-3 MSC) led by five points four times in the first 15 minutes, including at 26-21 on a runout dunk by Michael Chambers. But just as it had done all half long, Life found a way to claw back in it, scoring six of the next seven points to tie the game at 27 all with 6:18 on the clock.
The biggest lead for either team the rest of the half was when Life's Michael Miller drilled a 3 to put it up 36-32. Two Chase Parsley freebies and a Jordan Perry jumper quickly tied it back up and things stayed tight for the final 3:30 up until the Bears leading 42-41 at halftime.
Over the first eight minutes of the second half, the lead changed hands eight times. It was just going to be that type of game, a true MSC battle, even if the Running Eagles (19-10, 7-6 MSC) were only in their fourth season in the league.
UPIKE had flashes of being able to pull away, even if most of them didn't last long. The first was at 70-65 on a Culbreath jumper, but it was only a 72-70 lead a minute later. Again, the Bears pulled ahead by five at 78-73 on a Chambers layup, only to see it dwindle back to two points quickly.
But when Leslie got to the line for two makes with 6:22 left to make it 80-76, it was the start of a 9-0 run that culminated with a triple by Parsley to give UPIKE its largest lead yet at 87-76.
Aside from a couple of late fouls it didn't need and a 3 by Life in the final 20 seconds, the Bears played a solid last minute and a half. Perry had a couple of drives to the cup and the rest of the win was decided by strong free-throw shooting.
UP NEXT
It's senior day on Saturday as UPIKE hosts Cumberlands for the regular-season finale at 4 p.m. ET in the East Ky. Expo Center. It won't be the last games in that gym though as the MSC Tournament is set to be played there next Thursday through Sunday.
http://upikebears.com/news/2018/2/22/no-...tself.aspx
With the win, UPIKE claims its fourth Mid-South Conference Regular-Season Championship since joining the league for the 2000-01 season.
Three of the championships have been won in the past five seasons under 12th-year head coach Kelly Wells and this is the third time the Bears have had the title to themselves after tying with Campbellsville in 2014-15.
Jordan Perry led the Bears with 27 points and Michael Chambers added 20 off the bench. Perry hit three of UPIKE's four 3-pointers as it outshot Life 54-51 percent from the field. In a game where both teams hit 27 free throws and rebounding was nearly even, it came down to the Bears taking care of the ball with only seven turnovers and strong shooting from the field to make the difference.
Undra Mitchen led all scorers with 28 points for Life.
UPIKE (26-3, 10-3 MSC) led by five points four times in the first 15 minutes, including at 26-21 on a runout dunk by Michael Chambers. But just as it had done all half long, Life found a way to claw back in it, scoring six of the next seven points to tie the game at 27 all with 6:18 on the clock.
The biggest lead for either team the rest of the half was when Life's Michael Miller drilled a 3 to put it up 36-32. Two Chase Parsley freebies and a Jordan Perry jumper quickly tied it back up and things stayed tight for the final 3:30 up until the Bears leading 42-41 at halftime.
Over the first eight minutes of the second half, the lead changed hands eight times. It was just going to be that type of game, a true MSC battle, even if the Running Eagles (19-10, 7-6 MSC) were only in their fourth season in the league.
UPIKE had flashes of being able to pull away, even if most of them didn't last long. The first was at 70-65 on a Culbreath jumper, but it was only a 72-70 lead a minute later. Again, the Bears pulled ahead by five at 78-73 on a Chambers layup, only to see it dwindle back to two points quickly.
But when Leslie got to the line for two makes with 6:22 left to make it 80-76, it was the start of a 9-0 run that culminated with a triple by Parsley to give UPIKE its largest lead yet at 87-76.
Aside from a couple of late fouls it didn't need and a 3 by Life in the final 20 seconds, the Bears played a solid last minute and a half. Perry had a couple of drives to the cup and the rest of the win was decided by strong free-throw shooting.
UP NEXT
It's senior day on Saturday as UPIKE hosts Cumberlands for the regular-season finale at 4 p.m. ET in the East Ky. Expo Center. It won't be the last games in that gym though as the MSC Tournament is set to be played there next Thursday through Sunday.
http://upikebears.com/news/2018/2/22/no-...tself.aspx
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