Germain, Johnson combine for 45 points, 13 rebounds; SSU rallies to defeat Oakland City, 74-73
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shawnee State (11-5, 6-1) | 30 | 44 | 74 |
|
Oakland City (7-10, 2-5) | 35 | 38 | 73 |
Down by a 59-49 margin with 8:51 to play, the Shawnee State men's basketball program couldn't afford to mess around.
So the Bears continued to turn to their top playmakers on the perimeter and the low block in Saturday's affair against the Oakland City Mighty Oaks' men's basketball program to make things happen.
And boy, did they ever.
Keith Germain posted 14 points in the first and second halves by repeatedly muscling his way through and around the Oakland City frontline for game-highs of 28 points and nine rebounds, while Tyreke Johnson overcame a two-point first half by exploding for 15 second-half tallies, including the game-winning free throw with 4.3 seconds left after getting to the rim and being fouled on his way up for a layup attempt, to help give Shawnee State its fourth consecutive victory and its seventh win in the last eight contests with a 74-73 victory over Oakland City Saturday evening in Oakland City, Ind.
Tale of the tape: As even as can be
Shawnee State and Oakland City ultimately battled to eight ties and 11 lead changes over the course of the affair -- including nine lead changes and six ties in the opening half of play alone -- as both units showed off their offensive proficiency throughout the course of the contest. Shawnee State ultimately shot 28-of-55 from the field (50.9 percent), 4-of-10 from three-point range (40 percent), and 14-of-17 from the free throw line (82.4 percent) while Oakland City shot 28-of-54 from the field (51.9 percent), 4-of-9 from beyond the arc (44.4 percent) and 13-of-16 from the charity stripe (81.3 percent).
The Bears, however, held a slight advantage in terms of its inside play -- as Shawnee State collected a plus-four margin on the glass (30-26) and blocked three shots while Oakland City failed to post a denial in the contest.
Germain strong from start to finish
From the opening tipoff, Keith Germain didn't mess around.
The 6-5 senior forward from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. posted a tremendous outing as Germain scored eight of Shawnee State's first 13 points over the contest's first 5:16 -- then, after being reinserted into the contest, made three consecutive shot attempts over a span of 1:44 (8:25 to 6:46 first half) to help the Bears stay within five points, 35-30, at the halftime break.
Over the contest's final 7:41, Germain stepped it up even further -- as the senior scored 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting over that span with two dunks.
Fittingly enough, Shawnee State -- who got its plus-four advantage thanks in large part to a 9-6 edge on the offensive glass -- got a big offensive rebound from Germain on the left block, who outjumped a teammate and two additional Oakland City defenders by high-pointing the basketball perfectly after a missed shot and stuck the putback through contact to tie the score at 71 apiece with 1:23 to go following the successful conversion of his and-one opportunity.
Germain ultimately finished with his game-highs of 28 points and nine rebounds on 13-of-18 shooting -- all while also holding Oakland City 6-5 senior forward Sam Muller, who was averaging 17.5 points and 10.8 rebounds coming in on the year and had double-doubles to his credit in each of his last five games, to just eight points and eight rebounds. Muller also failed to hit double-digits for the first time since Nov. 10 due to Germain's defensive activity.
Nobody else in the contest had more than 19 points and four rebounds -- as Germain increased his season averages to 17.3 points and 7.2 rebounds on 59.8 percent shooting from the field and a 37.5 percent shooting mark from three-point range. Germain leads the team in rebounds and blocks (1.4) per game.
Johnson springs to action in second half
Determined to not be stopped at the rim, Shawnee State junior guard Tyreke Johnson used his 15-point second half to finish with 17 points and four rebounds for the contest.
The 6-6 junior guard from Woodstock, Ga. scored 14 of the Bears' first 22 points in the second half -- doing so over an 11-minute, 29-second span to begin the final stanza. Johnson then added his 15th and final point of the second half on the aforementioned drive to the rim that led to the game-winning free throw on the back end of the double bonus free throw situation.
Johnson, who went 6-for-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, now sits at 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 47.9 percent shooting from the field. Johnson also is third on the Shawnee State roster in rebounds and is second on the roster in assists (2.9).
Additional
John Dawson's eight points and two steals, Tre Beard's six points off of two treys to go along with two assists and a steal, Elkin Ramirez's five points and three rebounds, EJ Hubbert's four points and a combined seven points and six rebounds from forwards J.R. Lumsden and Tony Webb, Jr. rounded out the main contributors in the rotation for Shawnee State.
Shawnee State is scheduled to be back in action Tuesday, Jan. 16 when the Bears take on Indiana University-East at 7:30 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
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