SSU men take down (RV) WV Tech in 'The Cave,' 80-76
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
WVU Tech (WV) (15-5, 8-3) | 34 | 42 | 76 |
|
Shawnee State (15-6, 9-2) | 39 | 41 | 80 |
Over the years, the Shawnee State men's basketball program has defended home court well.
In general, the Bears -- with a 116-62 overall record since the beginning of the 2018-19 season -- have been difficult to beat essentially anywhere.
That's especially the case, however, inside the friendly confines of Waller Gymnasium -- also known as 'The Cave' or 'Bear Cave.'
Behind four double-figure scoring efforts -- each from the Bears' four double-figure scorers for the season in Tyreke Johnson, Keith Germain, Chaze Harris, and Tre Beard coming into Tuesday evening's contest against the (RV) West Virginia Tech Golden Bears' men's basketball program -- Shawnee State was able to take down West Virginia Tech by an 80-76 count Tuesday behind 20, 19, 18 and 15 points from the quartet, respectively.
The victory at home improved Shawnee State's mark at Waller Gymnasium to 63-23 overall since the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
In a strong offensive display from both sides, Shawnee State shot 28-of-52 from the field (53.1 percent), 11-of-23 from three-point range (47.8 percent) and 13-of-15 from the free throw line (86.7 percent), while West Virginia Tech shot 29-of-51 from the floor (56.9 percent), 6-of-17 from three (35.3 percent) and 12-of-14 from the free throw stripe (85.7 percent).
The Bears, however, were easily more efficient from a ballhanding standpoint, as Shawnee State (15-6, 9-2 RSC) posted 19 assists on its 28 made baskets Tuesday evening and committed just 14 turnovers as a team while West Virginia Tech (15-5, 8-3 RSC) was held to 10 assists and committed 18 turnovers as a unit.
Johnson keeps firing
Playing in a good offensive rhythm through his 37 minutes on the floor, 6-6 junior guard Tyreke Johnson enjoyed a line where the Woodstock, Ga. talent posted 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Johnson notched 12 points and four assists on 5-of-10 shooting in the opening half of action alone, then posted eight points, three rebounds and three assists in the second half while helping SSU close out the four-point River States Conference victory.
The junior's fourth 20-point game of the season has Johnson at 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and three assists on 47.7 percent shooting from the field for the year.
Germain plays bully ball
As usual, Keith Germain was a brute inside, as the 6-5 senior again scored in a highly efficient manner Tuesday evening in 36 minutes of game action, posting a 19-point, five-rebound, three-steal line.
Equally efficient in both halves of play, Germain notched nine points and three rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half, and followed that effort up with a 10-point, two-steal effort while going 5-of-6 from the field in the second half of action. Germain had two finishes that were two-handed rim-rockers, including a posterization of West Virginia Tech's Ashton Parker in the second half of play.
For the season, Germain is averaging 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game on 62.7 percent shooting from the floor.
Harris shows craftiness
Despite his shot not falling as desired in the first half, the smarts and skillset of Chaze Harris won out -- especially in the second half, ultimately notching 18 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals in 33 minutes.
Harris, who went 1-of-7 from the field in the opening half, completely turned around his performance by notching 14 points, three assists, two steals and a block in the second half of competition while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line as well.
During that second half stretch, Harris converted an and-one through contact with 8:13 to play in the second half and scored from a ridiculously-contorted angle on a layup attempt with 6:44 remaining in the contest.
For the season, Harris is averaging 22.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 63 percent shooting from the field and a 76.5 percent shooting mark from the free throw line. Harris is also averaging 2.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest.
In the name of Tre
Quickly becoming of the best three-point marksmen in program history, Shawnee State guard Tre Beard showed why Tuesday evening.
In his 37 minutes -- which matched Johnson for a game-high -- Beard spent much of the evening dropping daggers into the hearts of the West Virginia Tech faithful, going 5-of-8 from three-point range with makes from the left and right wing areas as well as the left corner en route to all 15 of his points. Beard also had two assists without turning the basketball over a single time in the contest.
The consistent and steady 5-10 guard from nearby Chillicothe is averaging 10.3 points on 47.1 percent shooting and a 48.1 percent mark from three-point range for the season.
Additional
Shawnee State will turn its attention to a huge rivalry contest Saturday afternoon as the Bears take on Rio Grande in what will be a pivotal River States Conference matchup at Rio Grande. Game time is set for 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Newt Oliver Arena.
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