KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The IU Kokomo men's basketball team closed out their weekend at "The Show" Sunday with an 11:00 AM ET tip-off against the 9-1 and receiving votes University of Pikeville Bears.

After falling behind by as many as 26, the Cougars battled back to even the game at 75 before the Bears drilled a shot with 12 seconds remaining for a two-point win. 

Pikeville scored seven-straight points before Noah Harris scored in the paint to get IU Kokomo on the board at 7-2. IUK trailed by just six at 14-8 before a 14-0 run from the Bears gave them a 20-point lead with 7:44 remaining in the first half.

The Cougars trimmed the deficit to 13 but Pikeville would take a 26-point lead, their largest of the game, at 48-22 in the final minute of the half. It was a 50-27 deficit for IUK.

Having been outscored by 23 in the opening 20 minutes, seventh year head coach Eric Echelbarger's squad flipped the script in the second half, outscoring the Bears by 21 to battle their way back into the game.

A bucket from Max Newman and triple from Evan Kretz pulled IU Kokomo within 12 in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as a Chris Glover layup with 10:06 cut the deficit to single digits for the first time in 21:41 of game action.

Kretz and Glover eventually knocked down three-pointers on consecutive possessions for IUK to make it a two-point Pikeville lead with seven minutes remaining. The scoring slowed tremendously in the final minutes, as the two teams combined for 14 points in the final 7:18.

Once Pikeville rebuilt a five-point lead, the Cougars scored four-straight to pull within a point with 3:35 to play. After Cade Looney scored at the rim for the Bears to make it a three-point lead, IUK's Kedric Anderson drilled a triple on a second-chance opportunity to even the score at 75 with 41 seconds left. 

(RV) University of Pikeville's Bradley Bunch scored the game-winning layup with 12 seconds remaining, as the Bears forced a turnover to close out a hard-fought 77-75 win.

Both Evan Kretz and Max Newman scored 14 points to lead IU Kokomo offensively, with Newman also grabbing 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. 

Joseph Annan Jr. added 11 points in 13 minutes of action off the bench, while Chris Chin recorded a second-straight double-figure game with 10 points. Noah Harris tallied seven points and eight boards. 

The Cougars are set to return to action and begin River States Conference play this Saturday at IU Southeast, as they will battle the Grenadiers in New Albany at 1:00 PM.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.