FRANKFORT, Ky. — It was a rough start, but top-seeded University of Pikeville is heading to the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference Championship after holding off No. 9-seed Shawnee State (Ohio) 87-77 behind 24 points from Kenny Manigault on Friday in the Frankfort Convention Center.
UPIKE (26-4) trailed Shawnee State 23-17 with six minutes left in the first half, but the Bears in orange and black decided they’d had enough, reeling off a 15-0 run over the next three minutes to flip the script.
SSU (11-19) got back within three late in the second half, but Pikeville never relinquished its lead. The first-half run came after UPIKE trailed by as many as 10 points early in the first half at 17-7.
Next up for Pikeville is a matchup with fourth-seeded Cumberlands at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Manigault had an impressive line, adding seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, but Christian Leach was just as important off the bench with a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards. Nine of Leach’s rebounds came on the offensive glass.
UPIKE was outrebounded overall 37-26, but made up for it by taking care of the ball, giving up just eight turnovers to SSU’s 20.
Overcoming a hot-shooting night by Sean Elliott was one of Pikeville’s biggest challenges as he hit six threes to finish with a game-high 28 points, while Andrew Bendolph chipped in with 24.
Three other UPIKE starters reached double figures, including K.K. Simmons with 17 points, Macari Brooks with 16 and Jackson Hussey adding 11.
It was a frenetic pace from the beginning with UPIKE having no trouble getting easy baskets at the rim, but Shawnee State was making the tough shots to stay in it. Andrew Bendolph dropped a three a minute in to take a 5-4 lead before SSU continued on a 4-0 run to lead by five early on.
Manigault fought back with a bucket in the paint, but SSU immediately responded with back-to-back triples by Elliott to build a 15-6 lead.
Shortly after that, the Shawnee State lead grew to 17-7 but Manigault came through again with a timely three to stop the bleeding. Five of the next seven points went UPIKE’s way to continue the comeback as Colt Chapman and Michael Eneh hit consecutive shots to get within four.
It was a slow comeback for UPIKE, which hit an important mark when Brooks buried a three to get within one at 23-22. After an SSU miss, it was Brooks again coming through with two free throws to give UPIKE its first lead.
When the run started, Pikeville trailed 23-17, but the good vibes continued to the tune of a 15-0 run, ending with a three from Simmons to make it 32-23. SSU went three and a half minutes without a point during that stretch.
From the 5:30 mark of the half on, UPIKE outscored Shawnee State 23-6 to take a 40-29 lead into halftime with Manigault leading all scorers with nine points.
Shawnee State was the aggressor to start the second half, outscoring UPIKE 9-3 over the first two minutes to cut the deficit to five at 43-38.
Just like in the first half, Elliott stayed hot for SSU, burying three consecutive 3-pointers to trim Pikeville’s lead to two at 51-49 with 14:10 left. Needing a quick lift, Leach was there for UPIKE, hitting a free throw and layup to start a 5-0 run that kept the lead at seven.
UPIKE’s lead returned to double figures with 7:56 left to play as two Manigault free throws made it 66-55. But with SSU making threes, no lead was safe as Bendolph and Elliott made two straight to make it a five-point game. Luckily for Pikeville, Simmons had an answer with a three of his own on the next trip.
After keeping at least a two-possession lead for several minutes, Shawnee State eventually got within three points on Bendolph’s 3-pointer to make it 77-74 with 1:54 on the clock. SSU had outscored UPIKE 7-4 over a two-minute span to get back in it.
But keeping up with the narrative of the game, Pikeville shot right back with a 6-0 run that included single free throws from Manigault and Simmons and a spinning dunk from Brooks on the fast break.
With under a minute left, Shawnee State missed two threes, had a shot blocked and turned the ball over twice to help UPIKE close out the win at the line.
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