LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Berry men's basketball squad faced the Transylvania Pioneers on Saturday in a fierce matchup. The Vikings put up a tremendous fight both offensively and defensively, but ended up coming short in a 2-point contest. 

The first half started out with the home Pioneers taking the reins with a 7-0 run. Sophomore Forward Nile King started an early Vikings momentum, answering back with a layup. The next couple of runs contained well traded baskets, including Junior Guard Grant Stubbs hitting a big time 3-pointer, taking the lead. As the first lead switch happened, many others occurred, with the Pioneers taking the lead right back with another 3.  

With about 12:00 to go in the 1st, Stubbs nailed yet another triple and tied the ball game 16-16. With this added pressure on the Pioneers. Later in the period, the Vikings snatched the lead right back. Stubbs then unleashed his inner Steph Curry and broke the tie with another three. Junior Guard Canon Armstead fueled the Vikings momentum with another bucket, taking a 22-18 lead. 

At around 7:17 left in the half; tension was mounting in Lexington, Kentucky. Nearing the tail end of the period, the Pioneers made it a tied ball game 22-22. Another tie occurred shortly after, making it 27 points apiece.  The first half ended with impressive buckets from Cameron Pope, Drew Winegarden, and Issac Martin. 

As the second half commenced, Nile King started the period with a layup of his own, getting the Vikings into motion. Not long after, the Pioneers stuck right with the Vikings 41-41. Following free throws from Stubbs, Drew Winegarden unleashed a back-to-back three-point run, leading 51-44. Impressive buckets from Nile King and Issac Martin followed, but the Pioneers kept pressing on, cutting the lead to 4. 

At the 10:00 mark, Berry started to lose some of their early 2nd half momentum. This was followed by a Vikings drought, which was eventually broken by Junior Guard Cameron Pope. Later in the matchup, Stubbs nailed two of his free throws, trailing 59-64. At this moment, the tide started to shift. Tension from the Vikings offense started to weigh on the Pioneers. Cameron Pope picked up on this momentum by executing a classy three-point play at the basket and free throw line. This bucket had Berry trailing by 4 in a 62-66 ball game. Much later, Drew Winegarden hit both free throws after an exchange of contact, making the game 66-68. After a slew of timeouts from both sides, Canon Armstead clutched up 2 more free throws, trailing 68-70. The game wrapped up in the Pioneer's favor, but the Viking's relentlessness should be a warning sign for opposing teams this season. 

After a technically impressive and all-around effort from this squad, the Vikings plan to pick up the pieces when they face Covenant College at home on Tuesday.