Pikeville fans happy to lose voices cheering team's NAIA win
PIKEVILLE — As the NAIA Division I Tournament championship game inched to a close Tuesday night, the 200 spectators at a viewing party on the floor of Pikeville's Expo Center rose to their feet. They swelled and deflated with each basket, chanting for "defense" and waving their fingers for free-throws as their team fought for the win more than 580 miles away at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Ear-splitting screams rang through the hall as the game went into overtime, and students crowded toward the big screen.
After a slow first half on Tuesday, Pikeville's fans based their hopes on Monday night's game, when the unseeded Pikeville College Bears overcame a 15-point deficit to oust its semifinal opponent, No. 3 seed Martin Methodist College.
"We're down, but (Monday) night proves we're not out of it," said Ravin Fields, director of the dorm that houses the basketball and baseball teams.
And the Bears certainly weren't out of it, battling into overtime for an 83-76 win over West Virginia's Mountain State University and Pikeville College's first NAIA men's basketball championship. The victory created a surge of excitement throughout the crowd in Pikeville.
"I lost my voice cheering," communications professor Chandra Massner said. "We're so proud of those boys."
Said Massner's daughter, Amanda Arts: "Amazing. Unbelievable."
The celebration on campus lasted until 4 a.m., Residence Life Director Kayla Bandy said. On Wednesday, a caravan was planned starting at 8 p.m. from the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg to the college gym, where a rally would welcome the team home. A parade in downtown Pikeville was planned for 4 p.m. Thursday.
"I hope a lot of people come out to support them," Bandy said as she painted signs and hung streamers in the men's locker room. She knows what she's talking about: Bandy was on the 2008 national champion bowling team, the school's only other title-winning sport. Now an assistant coach, she wears her championship ring daily.
"It's such a big deal for these guys," Bandy said. "From the kids texting from Kansas City it was not like anything they were expecting."
This story was originally published March 24, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Pikeville fans happy to lose voices cheering team's NAIA win."