The University of Pikeville Basketball team enjoyed a sweep of their BB&T Classic held at the East KY Expo Center this past weekend.
Here are both game stories:
No. 2 UPIKE Men’s Basketball Slams Past Brescia 101-67
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — In its return to regular-season action, the second-ranked University of Pikeville men’s basketball team got all over visiting Brescia for a 101-67 win on Friday night in the BB&T Classic at the East Ky. Expo Center.
The Bears (2-0) were coming off exhibition losses at Kentucky on Sunday and Tennessee on Monday and welcomed the chance to move away from an NCAA Div. I opponent with the Bearcats in the house.
Led by Kenny Manigault with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds, UPIKE reached the century mark for the second straight game, topping the 100 points scored in the season opener against Grace Bible by one. Six Bears reached double figures in all as Colt Chapman chipped in with 13 points, Macari Brooks added 12 and K.K. Simmons and Christian Leach both finished with 11.
Brescia (0-3) was led by Austin Morris with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Kyle Nixon finished with 11 points and Trey Howard added 10.
While the Bears won by over 30 points, it could have been worse, but the Bearcats helped their case by shooting 52.1 percent from the field and outrebounding UPIKE 35-34. However, the Bears did attempt over 20 more field goals, hit 25 free throws compared to 12 and led the offensive glass 16-11.
UPIKE’s pressure defense also overwhelmed Brescia, leading to it turning the ball over 30 times with just 12 assists as the Bears dished out 18 assists and turned it over just nine times. Even shooting nearly 70 times, UPIKE still managed a 50.7 percent mark.
At halftime, the Bears enjoyed a 54-35 lead and went up by as many as 36 points in the second half when Hobo McCoy sank a pair of free throws to make it a 98-62 game with exactly one minute to go. Brescia led just once at 2-0 on Morris’ opening basket, but the Bears took over and led by double digits at 12-2 just two minutes later on a dunk by Brooks.
By the time Leach finished a layup with 16 minutes still left in the first half, the Bears had already been on an 18-4 run. Brescia responded with a quick 7-0 run over the next two minutes to get back within seven on a three from Nick Young, but UPIKE bounced right back to lead by 20 just over three minutes later on a three from Chapman.
Simmons Gets Hot at Home, No. 2 UPIKE
Men’s Basketball Routs Alice Lloyd 124-77
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — K.K. Simmons isn’t afraid to shoot, and for University of Pikeville fans that shouldn’t be a problem as he nailed seven 3-pointers to lead the Bears with 30 points in a 124-77 rout of Alice Lloyd on Saturday in the finale of the BB&T Classic at the East Ky. Expo Center.
The Eagles (3-2) had every intention of sticking around early, taking an 8-7 lead on a jumper from Tyler Rogers just over a minute in. But the UPIKE pressure finally overwhelmed them, leading to a 20-2 run that had the Bears up by 17 points with over 13 minutes left in the first half.
By halftime, UPIKE (3-0) was up by 34 points at 67-33 before going on to lead by as many as 49 in the second half after a 3-point play by Kevin Kornegay. UPIKE has scored at least 100 points in all three of its games this season, the century mark was reached against Alice Lloyd at the 8:24 mark of the second half on a layup by Christian Leach (101-63).
Simmons is the first Bear to hit seven 3-pointers since Chris McHenry did it against Shawnee State (Ohio) on Feb. 4, 2012. Eight 3-pointers is the most hit by a UPIKE player in a single game in recorded history, done twice by Josh Samarco in 2008.
Leach backed up Simmons with 17 points, Jackson Hussey added 16 and Macari Brooks poured in 15 points. Leach finished with a double-double after also coming down with a game-high 10 rebounds and Manigault pulled down eight boards to go along with his 10 points and four assists.
The Bears shot 53 percent from the field and hit 26 of their 33 free-throw attempts, all while connecting on 10 3-pointers. Alice Lloyd struggled at 43.5 percent from the field, 25 percent from behind the arc and connected on 18-of-27 free throws.
Rebounds went in favor of the Bears 50-32, including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass, leading to a 22-5 mark in second-chance points.
UPIKE steps away from regular-season play one more time at 8 p.m. ET on Monday , facing Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky., for an exhibition contest at E.A. Diddle Arena.
