No. 22 IU Kokomo tops (RV) WVU Tech for RSC MBB Championship

3/2/2022 12:00:00 AM

By IU Kokomo Sports Information

KOKOMO, Ind. – The Indiana University Kokomo men's basketball team continued its winning streak on Tuesday as the Cougars defeated WVU Tech, 77-67, to claim the 2021-22 River States Conference Men's Basketball Championship. IU Kokomo's winning streak improved to 17 games with the win.

Trequan Spivey carried most of the offensive load for the Cougars, finishing with 30 points, on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor and 11-of-15 from the free throw line. This is Spivey's second 30-point effort of the season.

Hunter White chipped in with 16 points. Desean Hampton added eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds in the win. Tayson Parker scored nine points. As a team, the Cougars converted 23-of-28 free throw attempts.

White scored the first five points of the game for the Cougars to even things in the early goings. Spivey scored his first bucket of the game to give IUK a 7-5 lead and that sparked a 10-0 run by the Cougars, extending their lead to 15-5 just five minutes into the contest.

Parker knocked down back-to-back triple to put the Cougars up 16 points with 6:51 to play in the half which would turn out to be IUK's largest lead of the game.

The Golden Bears chipped away at the IU Kokomo lead for the remainder of the half, cutting their deficit to nine points but a jumper from White gave the Cougars an 11-point advantage heading into the break.

WVU Tech opened the second half on a 14-6 run to make it a one possession game with just less than 14 minutes to go but a quick 5-0 run from the Cougars put them back up by eight points.

With 6:05 to go, the Golden Bears got within four, but the Cougars once again had an answer and did not let WVU Tech get any closer for the remainder of the game.

Over the final four minutes of the game, IUK went 15-16 from the free throw line to seal the championship.

Andrew Work and Juvante Hayes both had 18 points to lead four WVU Tech players in double digits. Ashton Parker tallied 10 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Ke'ondre King made four 3-pointers and scored 12 points.

IU Kokomo and WVU Tech are both in the NAIA National Championship. They await their national tournament assignments, which will be announced during the selection show scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday evening. The NAIA National Championship Opening Round begins March 11 at sites around the country.