Late Free Throws Give Men's Basketball Win Over Pikeville

ATHENS, Tenn.- The men's basketball team played their final home game of the 2023 year on Saturday. The team hosted the newest members of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC), the University of Pikeville Bears. 

After Pikeville scored the first two baskets, Ty Hurst and Kobe Pride recorded the next two baskets to put the game in a 4-4 tie. Keshawn McPherson gave the team their first lead of the game with a three-point basket to make the score 7-6. Jay Reed put the game in a 9-9 but Pikeville took back the lead, holding a 23-16 lead at the midway point of the first half. With less than three minutes in the half, Kariden Hardrick hit a three-pointer and Nichaune Jones hit a layup to make the score 36-33 in favor of the opponents. A pair of Peyton West free throws and a layup by Jones made the score 38-37 in favor of Pikeville at halftime.

Out of the halftime break, the Bears scored 10 of the first 12 points to move their lead to 48-39. Hurst, Amauri Young, and Reed combined to scored the next nine points to put the game in a 48-48 tie. Over the next several minutes, the game saw multiple ties and lead changes. Reed broke one of the ties, forcing the final lead change of the game with 4:26 remaining in the game with his three-point play giving the Bulldogs a 65-64 lead. Even though the game became tied a few more times, TWU did not give up the lead. The final tie occurred with 23 seconds remaining, a 70-70 score. Young drew a foul with three secondds remaining, knocking down the succeeding free throws to give the team a 72-70 lead they held on to win by.

Hurst had a career-high 18 points to go along with a career-high 17 points from Young. Reed added 12 points.

The next time the Bulldogs (3-5, 3-4 AAC) play will be on the road on Wednesday when the team faces Union College. The conference game is set for 7:30 p.m.