Less than four minutes into Thursday’s game at Pikeville, the host Bears turned a St. Catharine turnover into a basket for an 11-9 lead. And that was the story line for the night as the Patriots committed a season high 25 turnovers in falling 87-69 to No. 2 Pikeville.
After gaining that early lead, the Bears (17-1, 8-1) never trailed again as they built a 42-27 halftime lead. St. Catharine (6-9, 2-7) never got closer than ten points in the second half as Pikeville shot 53 percent after intermission and 52.5 percent for the game.