PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Kenny Manigault posted a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds and K.K. Simmons added 22 points with four 3-pointers to lead third-ranked UPIKE past Ohio Christian 99-79 on Thursday in the East Ky. Expo Center.
The Bears (19-1), winners of 37 straight games at home, led by 26 points at halftime, but Ohio Christian made back a little ground with a 47-42 second-half performance. Wesley Russell was the big reason for the second-half output, finishing with a game-best 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
OCU’s Hayden Dunn finished with 20 points off the bench with the help of five threes, all in the second half, but there wasn’t much more help for the Trailblazers.
Macari Brooks nearly scored 20 for the Bears as well, finishing with 19 points and four rebounds, while Malik Jackson (11) and Jackson Hussey (10) also tallied double digits. UPIKE outshot OCU 49 to 43 percent from the field and hit 53.3 percent of its outside shots (8 of 15).
Ohio Christian (10-11) struggled to defend the more athletic Bears, committing 24 fouls which led to a big difference in free-throw attempts. The Bears made 29-of-35 shots from the stripe while the Trailblazers sank just 7 of 10.
OCU led by two twice early, but UPIKE went up by double digits for good just eight minutes in at 25-15 on a put back by Christian Leach. The Bears outscored OCU 20-10 over the next seven minutes to lead by 20 and ultimately took a 57-31 lead into halftime.
Eight of the first 10 points scored after the break went to the Trailblazers to trim the deficit to 20. An 11-3 UPIKE run followed to go back up by 28 and the deficit stayed around that mark until the final five minutes of the game.
With 2:52 to play, it was as close as 15 points after a three by Dunn, but the Bears outscored the Trailblazers 7-2 the rest of the way.
UPIKE returns to action at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, hosting the newest Mid-South Conference member, Life (Ga.) in the expo center.
Comments
