SSU men to face NCAA Division I Morehead State

For the first time in four years, the Shawnee State men's basketball program will be facing an NCAA Division I opponent as the Bears will make the 60-mile, hour-and-15 minute trek to Morehead, Ky. to face Morehead State University Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in an exhibiton contest that will be held at Ellis T. Johnson Arena.

Wednesday's contest will mark the first time since Shawnee State played Miami (Ohio) on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019 that the Bears have taken part in an exhibition contest against a NCAA Division I opponent. Shawnee State rallied from a 25-10 first half deficit to tie the score at 38 apiece at halftime before ultimately falling by a respectable 82-68 count. That Miami (Ohio) unit featured Nike Sibande, who ended up transferring from Miami to play at Pittsburgh.

Now under first-year Shawnee State head coach Michael Hunter, the Bears will look to prove what it can do against the longtime Ohio Valley Conference member.

"I think it's important because all the players can come in and show their skills in a high-level environment," Hunter said. "There are great players and programs across all levels of college basketball, and we're certainly grateful for the opportunity to play Morehead State, a program with a proud winning tradition with great players and a great coaching staff assembled. This is an opportunity for our players to prove who they are head-to-head. It's also good for Shawnee State, as a program, to show what we've been doing in the NAIA. It's big for us and we're looking forward to the challenge of playing in Morehead Wednesday evening."

Wednesday evening's matchup between the Bears and the Eagles will be the third-ever meeting between the two programs. Shawnee State played Morehead State in the men's basketball program's first-ever season back in 1988-89, falling by a well-contested 97-84 margin on Jan. 28, 1989. The two then met up once again during the 2001-02 season, with the Eagles defeating the Bears in a Nov. 19, 2001 matchup as well -- by a 103-78 count. Both games were played at Ellis T. Johnson Arena.

Shawnee State will attempt to get back on the right footing after a scant three-point defeat to Simmons College of Kentucky, 61-58, in Louisville, Ky. Saturday evening. Keith Germain, whom Hunter has referred as one of the most athletic players in the NAIA, had 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting, while Elkin Ramirez buried three second-half three-pointers to help whittle an 11-point halftime deficit down to one, twice, before ultimately falling by the previously mentioned three-point gap.

Wednesday's contest, Hunter said, is the beginning of fostering mindset that he says his players have done a great job working to implement in practice.

"The guys were just trying to bounce back from that (loss) very quickly," Hunter said. "We've been doing a good job of looking to the next play being the most important play, and our guys have done a great job of locking in during the last few days of practice. This is a great opportunity for us to continue to grow and get better as we look to grow toward taking that next step as a basketball program."

Both programs have enjoyed more sustained success recently, as Shawnee State comes into Wednesday's matchup having gone 87-40 since the beginning of the 2019-20 season with an NAIA National Championship under former head coach DeLano Thomas in the 2020-21 season as well as an NAIA Opening Round appearance last year. Hunter, Thomas' first assistant at Shawnee State, played a critical part along with Thomas in developing the culture that has helped lead to the recent success.

Meanwhile, Morehead State has posted nine winning seasons in the last 15 campaigns -- including 22 wins or more in each of the last three years under current head coach Preston Spradlin, who is 114-100 overall with the Eagles. Spradlin played his college ball at Alice Lloyd -- a fellow River States Conference foe of Shawnee State's -- and was a staff member on the University of Kentucky's 2011-12 National Championship team under John Calipari before working his way up the Morehead State staff.

Morehead State's athletic director, Kelly Wells, has prior history with Shawnee State -- as Wells coached against SSU while at Pikeville when the pair were in the Mid-South Conference. Wells, who is in his first season as the Eagles' athletic director, graduated from Rowan County High School in Morehead, where he was a KHSAA All-State selection, and later led the Mason County High School boys basketball program to three consecutive 10th Region Championships and a 2003 KHSAA State Championship, coaching former Tennessee standout Chris Lofton as well as former University of Cincinnati quarterback Dustin Grutza. He later led Pikeville to the 2011 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.

Wednesday's contest will be broadcasted live on ESPN Plus. To watch, head to https://msueagles.com/watch/?Live=281&type=Live.

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