Miners beat Cavalry, complete home series sweep

PIKEVILLE, KY - Host East Kentucky saved its best for last Friday night in a non-conference home matchup versus Oklahoma. Despite trailing at the end of each of the first three quarters, East Kentucky ultimately landed in the win column, defeating Oklahoma 106-102 in front of a loud and supportive East Kentucky Expo Center crowd. The Miners swept a two-game series versus the Cavalry.

"Our guys gave a tremendous effort to get a second straight win over Oklahoma," said East Kentucky Coach Kevin Keathley. "It's the end of the regular-season and our players are stepping up and performing extremely well, doing the much-needed things required to win the close games."

Josh Pace led East Kentucky in scoring. Pace, one of the CBA's top scorers, tossed in a game-high 28 points.

East Kentucky, which won for the fourth time in six games, improved to 23-21 following the win. Jason McLeish added 25 points for the Miners. Mike Dean and Boo Jackson also reached double figures scoring for East Kentucky. Dean and Jackson scored 18 points and 14 points, respectively. Steve Thomas narrowly missed recording a double-double for the Miners. Thomas pulled down 14 rebounds and scored nine points for the East Kentucky professional basketball team.

Oklahoma built an early lead in the opening quarter. The Cavalry owned a 27-22 lead at the end of the first period. Oklahoma, ranked second in the American Conference behind Yakama, carried a 60-55 lead into intermission. East Kentucky claimed each of the last two quarters. The Miners owned the fourth quarter, outscoring Oklahoma 27-19 en route to the late regular-season win.

Curtis Haywood led Oklahoma, registering a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Daryan Selvy and Shawn Daniels each had 17 points for the Cavalry (24-17). Marvin Phillips aided the Oklahoma offensive effort, contributing a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Nate Green netted 10 points for the Cavalry.

East Kentucky edged Oklahoma 42-39 in the rebounding department.

The Miners hit 29-of-38 attempts from the free throw line.

East Kentucky will resume play on Sunday at home versus visiting Atlanta. The game will serve as a home finale for the Miners. Tip-off for the East Kentucky-Atlanta game is slated for 4:05 p.m.