PIKEVILLE – University of Pikeville men’s basketball coach Kelly Wells walked down the Appalachian Wireless Arena floor to shake hands with Bluefield State College coaches and players following his team’s 98-73 win over the Big Blues in a game played on Tuesday night.
It was his final game in the Arena as head coach of the Bears in a career which spanned back to the 2006-07 season.
Luke Layhew paced UPIKE, now 20-9, with 22 points and nine boards. The 20 wins mark the eight consecutive season the program has reached the feat.
J.J. Ramey followed with 17 while DeAndre Barton tossed in 14. Xaviar Gaona chipped in 12 and Jordan Perry added 10.
UPIKE will close out the regular season at Shawnee State University at 4 p.m. Saturday in Portsmouth, Ohio.
At Pikeville
SCORE BY HALVES:
BS (11-14)….33 40 – 73
UP (20-9)……53 45 – 98
Scoring:
Bluefield State (73) – Marquez Cooper 11(2) 3-4 31; Tony Hood 1 2-2 4; Saveon Falls 2 0-0 4; Alex Nunnally 2 0-0 4; Zhahidi Robinson 2 0-0 4; Teyon Henry 4(4) 0-1 20; Chris Knight 1 2-2 4; and Brandon Anyanwu 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24(6) 7-9 73.
UPIKE (98) – Luke Layhew 8 6-11 22; J.J. Ramey 4(3) 0-1 17; DeAndre Barton 1(2) 6-6 14; Jordan Perry 5 0-0 10; Jazz Parker 1(1) 2-2 7; Xaviar Gaona 3(2) 0-0 12; Korbin Spencer 1(2) 0-0 8; and Da’Rell Domineck 3 2-6 8. Totals: 26(10) 16-26 98.