PIKEVILLE – Despite an off-shooting night, especially on the interior, the Bears were still able to drop 100 points for the first time this season in a 104-83 win against Florida National.
Pikeville (2-0) was once again led by senior Jayvian Delacruz who followed his career-high 31-point game Friday with a 28-point, 8-rebound game on Saturday.
UPIKE got off to a brutal start shooting, missing multiple open layups, which allowed Florida National to hang around longer than most fans expected. UPIKE held as narrow as a five-point lead with a minute and a half to go in the first half. A 7-2 run sparked by two buckets from Stanley Perrin gave the Bears a 10-point halftime lead.
Of its 50 first-half points, only 22 were in the paint for UPIKE. Fortunately, UPIKE corrected its main downfall from the evening prior by shooting over 70 percent from the free throw line (8-11) to keep its lead.
Delacruz was dominant in the first half, scoring ten straight points for the Bears early with another six-point run later in the half in the process of scoring 21 before the break. Perrin added eight his 12 points off the bench in that time as well.
Part of what led the power surge offensively for UPIKE was the assertion in the post from Da’Rell Domineck. He scored 16 points with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the game. Most of that production (11 points) came in the second half.
After shooting 48.7 percent in the first half, UPIKE shot 64.5 percent in the second period to close the game out. That coupled with a defensive adjustment that limited FNU to just 37.0 percent in the second half sparked a massive 20-2 run that provided all the separation the Bears needed in the game, creating a 86-58 lead with just over eight minutes to go.
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UPIKE will have the week off before hosting the Appalachian Wireless Classic next weekend. UPIKE’s participation in that will begin at 8 p.m. Friday with a matchup against Kentucky Christian.
(SOURCE: UPIKE Sports Information Office)