Bears fall to Lions, 75-70

In a competitive nonconference contest between two well-coached NAIA programs, the Shawnee State men's basketball program suffered a scant setback Friday evening as the Bears fell to the Florida Memorial Lions' men's basketball program by a 75-70 count on the second and final day of action at The Show at the MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.

Shawnee State was not only competitive throughout the contest against Florida Memorial, but had the undefeated Lions on the ropes during the affair as the Bears took as much as a 14-point first half lead before settling for a 39-28 halftime advantage, all while holding Florida Memorial to just 10-of-30 shooting (33.3 percent) from the field and outrebounding the Lions by a 25-17 mark in the opening half.

Over the first 34:29 of action, the Bears held the lead for all but 1:05 of that entire stretch and never trailed, but a key 12-4 run by the Lions from the 8:15 to the 5:04 marks of the second half allowed Florida Memorial to take the lead, and the Bears, who valiantly came back to tie the contest three different times after that, couldn't capture the lead in the tight defeat.

Beard stands tall in face of adversity

Despite going up against his former head coach, assistant coach and four of his former Shawnee State teammates in the contest, Tre Beard not only stood tall but again played poised and winning basketball throughout the contest.

Beard, a lead guard for the Bears, was fantastic from the free throw line as the Chillicothe product went a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe over the course of the contest and added in another strong ballhanding performance by turning the ball over just once while notching a pair of assists in the contest. Beard scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half of play to lead all scorers in another impressive effort where he ultimately ran up his assist count to 17 for the season through six games. Likewise, Beard has only committed six turnovers -- and holds a 2.83-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a result.

Germain adds in second straight double-double

For the second consecutive night and the third time in Shawnee State's six games to start the year, senior forward Keith Germain posted a double-double en route to proving his talent against one of the NAIA's longest frontlines.

Going up against 6-8 forward Felix Uadiale, 6-10 forward Latavious Mitchell and 7-2 center Azubuike Nwankwo, Germain, at 6-5, was the only person on the entire floor to finish with a double-double, as the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native was not only consistent with six points in the first half, seven points in the second frame of action, and five rebounds in both halves of play, but efficient as the senior went 5-for-10 from the field over the course of the contest. Germain also added in a pair of steals in the contest.

His sixth double-figure scoring output in as many games has resulted in the senior averaging 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds on 57 percent shooting through the first six contests of the year -- stats that would rival any NAIA talent in the association.

Lumsden, Webb add in versatility, toughness

Providing great activity throughout the contest on the low block, J.R. Lumsden and Tony Webb, Jr. were big in helping Shawnee State establish its 11-point first half advantage.

Lumsden helped Shawnee State get out to a quick 8-2 advantage with his early action -- knocking down a three-pointer and converting an and-one opportunity within the contest's first two minutes and 35 seconds -- while Webb added in an impressive nine rebounds to go along with six points in the opening half of play.

For the contest, Lumsden ultimately finished with 12 points and six rebounds while Webb, Jr. added in 10 rebounds and eight points as both players finished with strong performances that were arguably one of, if not their best, showings of the year so far.

Additional

Shawnee State (3-3) will gear up for its first River States Conference basketball matchup Monday evening against Alice Lloyd, Ky. (4-1) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening. It will be the second game of a doubleheader for the Bears and Eagles, as the women's basketball programs for both universities precede with action at 5:30 p.m. inside Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

Michael Hunter has already led Shawnee State to a victory over No. 5-ranked Georgetown, 83-78, at home, and also defeated (RV) Indiana-South Bend on the road in South Bend this season as part of a terrific 3-1 stretch over the Bears' last four contests that he, fellow assistants Chandler Fointno and Brent Gaither, and the entire SSU roster have spearheaded quickly. Shawnee State's three losses have all come by single digits and have been by a combined 12 points at either neutral or road sites.

Former 2021 NAIA National Champion and three-year Shawnee State letterman Latavious Mitchell added 12 rebounds and eight points for Florida Memorial, while former SSU letterwinners Jaiden Guice supplied 13 points and Felix Uadiale 10 points and eight rebounds for the Lions. SSU Athletics Hall of Famer DeLano Thomas and former SSU assistant Lindal Yarbrough helped improve the Lions to an 8-0 mark to start the year.

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