PIKEVILLE – It was a special night Tuesday all around the East Kentucky Expo Center on Tuesday as UPIKE defeated Great Lakes Christian in resounding fashion, 109-62, for coach Kelly Wells’ 300th win as the head of the UPIKE men’s program.
However, it was also special in that Tuesday marked the return of All-Mid-South Conference guard Jordan Perry, who saw the floor for the first time this season because of medical reasons. Perry had a huge impact on the game, scoring 20 points on just 11 shots. 18 of those points came in the second half.
The Bears had three players score at least 20 points in the game in Perry, Jayvian Delacruz who had a game-high 28, and Jovontae Carleton who also had 20.
UPIKE held the Crusaders to 23 points in the second half, thanks in part to GLCC going 0-16 from beyond the arc in that time. The Crusaders ran a fast-paced offense that relied on three-pointers and because of that, the Bears were able to corral a season-high 62 rebounds, led by Da’Rell Domineck’s eight. Jazz Parker and Luke Layhew were just behind with seven a piece.
The 47-point margin of victory was the fourth largest so far this season, and the third 40-plus point win in a row.
GLCC hung around with the Bears for the first 17 minutes, trailing by only nine points. However, the Bears game plan finally clicked in the closing moments of the first half when the Bears went on a 14-2 run and went into halftime with a 19-point lead. The Crusaders would fail to get any closer than that for the rest of the game.
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UPIKE closes out the Walters Auto Group Classic with a 4 p.m. matinee with Simmons (Ky.) in its final game of 2018 at the East Ky. Expo Center.
(Source: UPIKE Sports Information Office)