The hill was simply too high to climb for the University of Pikeville Bears.
UPIKE fell behind by 20 points at the break and a second-half comeback came up short as Bethel University held on to score an 86-76 win in a game played at the Arena on Thursday night.
The loss dropped the Bears to 11-9. The Wildcats improved to 12-7.
Korbin Spencer poured in a game-high 30 points and Teddy Parham Jr. followed with 18. Devin Collins net 12. Jacob Brown chipped in eight.
UPIKE will host Freed-Hardeman University (16-4) at the UPIKE Gymnasium on Saturday tip off is 3 p.m.
At Pikeville
SCORE BY HALVES:
BU (12-7)……49 37 – 86
UP (11-9)……29 47 – 76
Scoring:
Bethel University (86) – Connor Guthrie 7(4) 1-1 27; Tyler Neely 5(1) 1-2 14; Brennon Marsh 5 1-2 11; Querrich Gadson 2 7-8 11; Yassine Zlitni 0(1) 0-0 3; Latrell Carter 3 2-2 8; Keyshawn Kennedy 2 4-4 8; Jose Nazario 1 1-2 3; and AJ Burnett 0 1-2 1. Totals: 25(6) 18-23 86.
UPIKE (76) – Korbin Spencer 7(4) 4-5 30; Teddy Parham Jr. 4(1) 7-11 18; Devin Collins 4(1) 1-2 12; Jacob Brown 4 0-1 8; Keian Worrix 1 2-2 4; and Bradley Bunch 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22(6) 14-21 76.
Next up: UPIKE (11-9) vs. Freed-Hardeman University (16-4), 3 p.m., Jan. 21.