PIKEVILLE, Ky. — K.K. Simmons tied a program record with eight 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 38 points as the No. 2 University of Pikeville men’s basketball team pushed past No. 8 Georgetown 113-100 on Saturday at the East Ky. Expo Center.
Simmons’ 38 points are the most scored by a Bear since Trevor Setty lit up UVa.-Wise for 39 points in 2012. The total is also one-point better than Bruce Reed’s 37 points scored at home against the Tigers last season. Simmons faced intense defensive pressure all night, but still found a way to bury six 3-pointers by halftime.
Kenny Manigault added 22 points and five assists, Macari Brooks tallied 20 points and Jackson Hussey came off the bench to join them in double figures with 10. Brooks was also the team’s leading rebounder with seven as the Bears edged the Tigers on the glass 35-31.
Georgetown (3-2, 0-2 MSC) wasn’t without some big performances of its own as Gerard Coleman tallied 34 points and Noah Cottrill finished with 26 points and seven assists while hitting five threes of his own.
It was an extremely even game on just about every level, except that UPIKE (5-0, 2-0 MSC) shot the ball a little bit better. The Bears hit at 59.1 percent from the field, compared to 54.7 for Georgetown. Included in that was two extra 3-pointers, two more two-point field goals and three more makes at the free-throw line.
The Bears showed glimpses of breaking it open in the first half when Brooks finished off a 5-0 run with a layup made after a Cottrill foul to put UPIKE up by 10 with 2:11 left. Just before the break, Christian Leach went up strong for a layup and the Bears led 52-43 at halftime.
Coming out hot in the second half, UPIKE extended its lead to 16 points less than four minutes in on a three from Simmons, but that also cued a 21-7 Georgetown run over the next several minutes. At the 11:14 mark it was just a two-point game at 72-70.
But just as quick, Pikeville went on a 10-2 run of its own to go back up by double figures when two free throws from Simmons made it an 86-76 lead. The Tigers never got closer than 11 the rest of the way as UPIKE pushed ahead by as many as 17 points on a bucket from Colt Chapman down the stretch.
UPIKE returns to Mid-South Conference play at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday at St. Catharine.
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