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COLUMBIA, Ky. – In the regular-season finale for the Lindsey Wilson men's basketball, two late turnovers from the Blue Raiders cost them a chance to upset No. 7 Pikeville (Ky.) in an 83-78 loss against the Bears on Saturday afternoon.
Bryan Wallace led Lindsey Wilson (16-13, 6-10 Mid-South Conference) with a game-high 20 points, while Dmitry Utolin had 18 points and Charles Sutton chipped in with 16 points. Senior, Ja'Ln Williams, was the final Blue Raider to hit double figures on Senior Day with 11 points against Pikeville (25-4, 12-4 MSC).
Both teams battled back-and-forth for momentum in the opening minutes of the game as the lead changed hands three times and the score was also tied four times over the first 9:57 of the game.
After the game was tied at 14 with 11:03 to play in the first half, Lindsey Wilson put together a 14-3 run to create some separation in the game, as they led Pikeville 28-17 with 6:19 to left in the first half.
The Bears tried to keep the game within reach as they brought their deficit down to eight points three times throughout the remainder of the first half. However, the Blue Raiders slowly extended their lead to 15 points, which was their largest of the game, at the 1:51 mark of the first half.
With Lindsey Wilson leading 44-29, K.K. Simmons knocked down a shot from behind the arc just before the end of the first half to cut the Blue Raider lead to 44-32 heading into the half.
Lindsey Wilson shot 59.3 percent from the field and they were 6-of-14 on shots from three-point land. The Bears also had strong shooting in the first half as they shot 50 percent from the floor and made 3-of-5 three-point attempts.
The second half started the same way as the first half with both teams unable to string a run together. Over the first five minutes of the second half, Pikeville slowly cut their deficit to seven points, but Lindsey Wilson regained a double-digit lead, 53-43, with 13:12 left in the game.
The Bears were able to sustain their first long run of the game as they went on a 15-3 run to take their first lead of the game since the 13:31 mark in the first half. After Pikeville grabbed the lead, 58-56, with 8:52 left in regulation, a seesaw battle began with largest lead for either team down the stretch was five by the Bears at the end of the game.
The lead changed hands 11 times over the final 8:52 of the game and the score was tied on nine different occasions.
After Sutton knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining to give the Blue Raiders a 78-77 advantage, Trey Rakes put Pikeville ahead after two made free throws of his own with 57 seconds left to play.
Following a Lindsey Wilson timeout, the Blue Raiders turned the ball over on their ensuing possession and the Bears hit two more free throw to grab an 81-78 lead with 17 seconds left on the clock. Lindsey Wilson looked to get a bucket on their next possession, but another Blue Raider turnover ended the comeback attempt for Lindsey Wilson.
Pikeville secured the game hitting two more free throws to prevail with an 83-78 victory.
The Bears shot a scorching 76.5 percent from the field in the second half to finish the game shooting 61.5 from the floor. Pikeville also knocked down 5-of-8 three pointers in the game. Lindsey Wilson shot 47.8 percent in the second half as they closed out the game shooting 54 percent. The Blue Raiders were 10-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Pikeville controlled the glass throughout the game as they outrebounded Lindsey Wilson, 31-19. The Bears also shot 73.2 percent from the free throw line, compared to 53.8 percent from the Blue Raiders.
Lindsey Wilson now heads into the Mid-South Conference Tournament next week as they face Pikeville in the quarterfinals in Frankfort, Ky., at 1 p.m. CT on Friday.