UPIKE Plays MSC
0Written by Rachel Murphy
The Mid-South Conference basketball tournament this year was held at the Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky. The University of Pikeville men’s basketball team was ranked the top seed in the Mid-South Conference while the women’s basketball team was ranked 3rd in a tie with Cumberland (Tenn.) and Shawnee State, but ended up as a 4th-seed by a tiebreaker.
The women’s basketball team played 5th-seeded Cumberland University, Thursday, March 5 where they fell short to a buzzer beater in a close, well-fought game with the final score 59-56.
The men’s basketball team played 9th-seeded Shawnee State on Friday, March 6, where the Bears passed the first round of conference play. The game started out slow, but picked up at halftime with the final score 87-77.
However, the next day 4th-seeded University of the Cumberlands upset Pikeville, 66-60, the Bears’ lowest scoring game of the season.
Pikeville’s Kenny “KJ” Manigualt received NAIA Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. This was the third year in a row that Pikeville had the NAIA Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.