FRANKFORT, Ky. — Top-seeded University of Pikeville shot just 25 percent from the field and had Kenny Manigault, its leading scorer on the season, limited to just seven points as it fell 66-60 to No. 4-seed Cumberlands in the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Saturday in the Frankfort Convention Center.
UPIKE’s last lead came at 29-28 with 18:59 left in the second half. After that, the Patriots went on to lead by as many as 13 points with a minute to play.
After pulling the starters, UPIKE (26-5) got a brief glimpse of hope when Hobo McCoy and Bruce Haynes made threes and Jackson Hussey hit three free throws to cut the deficit to four with 29 seconds on the clock. Cumberlands held off the rally by hitting three free throws, including one as part of a 3-point play.
K.K. Simmons paced the Bears with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, and Macari Brooks joined him in double figures with 12 points and seven rebounds. The 25-percent showing from the field was the lowest of the season, as was the 60 total points.
Tony Bradley was huge for the Patriots (22-9), pouring in 29 points and grabbing 13 boards, while Xavier Owens pitched in with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Cumberlands shot 44 percent from the field and hit 21 of 27 free-throw attempts. Rebounds also went its way at 48-35.
The teams combined to shoot 0 for 7 from the field in the first two minutes before Armstrong put the Patriots on the board with a bucket in the paint at the 17:38 mark.
No different than most games with Cumberlands, it was a defensive battle over the next four minutes. Without space to attack, the Bears were glad to use a pair of threes from Simmons and Brooks to build a 12-7 lead.
Behind another three and free throw from Simmons, UPIKE pushed its lead to five at 21-16, but Cumberlands put together its second 4-0 run to make it a one-point game at the 4:30 mark of the half.
After trailing for 12 minutes, the Patriots eventually rallied themselves up by one when Bradley got loose for an uncontested layup to extend the run. It only got worse for the Bears as they hadn’t scored in over seven minutes and back-to-back baskets by Chance Armstrong and Michael Dow had Cumberlands up by five.
Brooks eventually ended the drought with a minute left in the half, and following another Armstrong bucket, Simmons made another three to cut UPIKE’s deficit to two at 28-26 heading into halftime.
At the start of the second half, Brooks wasted no time keeping up where he left off, knocking down a triple to quickly put the Bears back up by one. But as many big shots as the Bears could hit, it was still a chore to stop the inside presence of Bradley and Owens.
The duo took over after Brooks’ three with two straight baskets in the paint to give Cumberlands a 33-29 lead. This time around it was UPIKE clawing back as Hussey dipped under a block attempt for a jumper and Manigault drove the lane on the fast break to tie the game at 33.
It was the first points of the game for Manigault who was facing a non-stop faceguard from Iven Rosier.
Cumberlands’ lead stayed at two points or less for the next four minutes until Armstrong connected on two freebies to make it 42-38 with 11:06 to play. Owens made two more shortly after that and the Patriots had the biggest lead yet for either team.
Free throws continued to tell the story for the next several minutes as Bradley made five of six to help the Patriots to a 49-42 lead with 5:39 left.
Pikeville hadn’t scored for nearly three minutes, and with Manigault fouling out with five minutes left, things were going the Patriots’ way when Bradley finished off a 3-point play to make it a 10-point game.
With under a minute left, and many of the UPIKE reserves in the game, the Bears rattled off nine points at an alarming rate for the Patriots. McCoy started it with a three, Hussey made three free throws and Bruce Haynes hit a three as well.
The Patriots answered quickly with a 4-0 run, but Michael Eneh hit his first career three to keep a comeback possible. Ultimately the good fortune ended and the Patriots finished off the win at the stripe.
UPIKE, the MSC Regular-Season Champion, will find out its seed and first-round matchup in the NAIA National Championship at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11. Action is scheduled to begin in Kansas City on March 18.
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