Bulldogs beaten by Bears

Cumberland was unable to contain the University of Pikeville’s torrid shooting in an 84-58 defeat Thursday night at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.

The Bulldogs were led by Brian Blackmon’s 14 points.

The Bears ended the game shooting 58-percent from the field compared to 36-percent for CU. Daniel McFadden was the lone Bulldog to shoot over .500, nailing all five of his shots, including two from beyond the arc, for a dozen points.

The battle between CU (7-12, 3-8) and No. 3 Pikeville was a semi-close contest for much of the first half. With 10 minutes to go, two free throws by Blackmon cut the lead to 20-15, but the Bears broke loose in the final three minutes, propelling them to a 42-28 lead before the break.

Blackmon and Charles Stewart kept the Bulldogs to within striking distance early in the second half with their ability to get to the rim and score. Stewart’s driving layup with 17:08 on the clock brought the Bulldogs to within 48-34. However, CU would not score again for nearly four minutes until Stewart hit another shot in the paint and Cumberland trailing 55-36.

The Bulldogs had difficulty stopping Pikeville’s Jamar Briscoe, who compiled an 8-0 and a 7-0 run of his own in the second half, with the latter willing his team to a 72-43 advantage with 8:11 to play. McFadden answered with five points of his own but it was too late in the game for the Bulldogs to recover.

Stewart contributed 10 points on the night and Elijah Gillis posted a team-high six rebounds.

For Pikeville, (19-2, 9-2) Briscoe tallied 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting.