Pikeville Wins High-Scoring Opener Over Bethel, 94-86
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Box Score) No. 7-seeded Pikeville (Ky.) tipped off day two of the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship in Municipal Auditorium with a 94-86 win over Bethel (Tenn.). The Bears advance to the second round to take on the winner of No. 10 Concordia (Calif.) and Oklahoma City on Friday, March 20 at 12:30 p.m.
“The team had to overcome adversity," said Pikeville Head Coach Kelly Wells. "Kenny Manigault and K.K. Simmons only got to play limited minutes due to foul trouble. Macari Brooks stepped up for us, along with Christian Leach and Michael Eneh on the glass. Eneh’s size altered shots and Leach had a solid game on defense. We have to get better on the boards, but I’m proud of this team.”
Macari Brooks led five Pikeville players in double figures with 21 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Jackson Hussey tallied 14 points, six assists and four rebounds, while the trio of Kenny Manigault, Colt Chapman and K.K. Simmons chipped in with 12 points apiece.
Pikeville (27-5) never trailed in the game and took control early in the first half with a 10-0 run to claim a 23-10 lead at the 10:07 mark. Christian Leach and Simmons delivered back-to-back conventional three-point plays after Leach had knocked down a pair of free throws. Chapman also converted a pair at the charity stripe to complete the 1:33 stretch.
Bethel responded with a 14-2 run to close within a point before settling for a six-point halftime deficit. The Wildcats shot 15 of 42 (.357) in the first half, while the Bears converted on 39.4 percent (13 of 33) from the field.
Caleb Hardy scored six points in the opening three minutes of the second half to pull the Wildcats within a point, and Bethel remained within one at the 15:49 mark before Pikeville pulled away. Brooks hit a three-pointer to spark a 14-2 run to stretch the lead to 13 points, the largest margin of the game. Bethel got as close as four points with 2:43 to play, but Pikeville answered with six-straight points to seal the win.
“I thought our kids really played well and showed a great deal of heart and poise,” said Bethel head coach Jeff Britt. “Pikeville has a great team and I want to wish them the best of luck in the next round.”
Pikeville shot 17 of 31 (.548) from the field in the second half and converted 30 of 40 free throws (.750) for the game. Bethel posted a 57-40 rebounding advantage, including 34 on the offensive end, leading to 32 second chance points.
Hardy led all scorers with 31 points for Bethel to go along with 11 rebounds, while Mikel Terrance posted 16 points and matched Hardy with 11 rebounds. Mark Vaughn also chipped in with 10 points for the Wildcats.
Bethel finishes its season with a record of 23-10.
Game Notes:
Pikeville – The Bears improved to 4-5 in the first round of the national championship, claiming its second-straight win in its tournament opener to move its all-time record to 10-7 … Pikeville recorded a season-high nine blocked shots with Chapman posting a personal-best six blocks … The Bears scored at least 90 points for the 21st time this season, entering the event as the NAIA’s top scoring team (95.2) … The No. 7 seed has won its first round game every year since 2005.
Bethel – The Wildcats lost in its debut game in the national championship, making its only other postseason appearance in the 2002 NAIA Division II tournament … Hardy finished his career as the No. 9 career scorer in program history with 1,804 points, one point behind the No. 8 scorer … Bethel played three teams during the regular season participating in the national championship, posting a 3-4 record in those games.
