Bears shoot at least 50 percent from field for second straight game; Lovelace posts double-double in 83-64 win over Simmons (Ky.)

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- For the second consecutive contest to begin the 2024-25 season, the Shawnee State men's basketball program shot at least 50 percent from the floor -- with Donovan Lovelace posting his first career double-double at the collegiate level and three additional players joining Lovelace in double-figures in a 83-64 victory over the Simmons (Ky.) Falcons' basketball program Wednesday evening in the home opener for the SSU men's basketball program at Waller Gymnasium.

The Rundown

Continuing to enjoy outstanding efficiency offensively, Shawnee State (1-1) went 33-of-66 from the field as the Bears shared the basketball in an unselfish manner once again in Wednesday's victory -- posting 18 assists on its 33 made baskets in the victory.

Additionally, Shawnee State committed just eight turnovers in the contest to post a 2.25-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team, and forced Simmons (0-3) into 19 turnovers en route to scoring 24 points off of those turnovers by the Falcons. It was Simmons' largest margin of defeat of the season, as the Falcons had played fellow NAIA opponents Indiana-Southeast and Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) to single-digit affairs.

Lovelace continues strong start to season

Having posted a career-high of 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists in his first game with Shawnee State against Northwestern Ohio, 6-9 sophomore big man Donovan Lovelace followed that effort up by collecting his first career double-double as a collegiate basketball player in Wednesday's 19-point victory.

Playing in 33 out of the game's 40 minutes -- including all 20 ticks in the second half -- the 6-9 sophomore from Dallas, Texas dropped 19 points and nine rebounds in the second half alone en route to finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a 10-of-12 mark from the free throw line.

While playing efficiently throughout the second half, Lovelace also showcased a variety of skills in the process -- as the sophomore took a Tre Beard lob and packed it home on an alley-oop with 17:04 to play, but also scored on a silky smooth 16-foot jump shot with 6:15 to play and added in a beauty of a turnaround fadeaway with 2:21 to go to finish off another strong night.

Through two games, Lovelace is averaging 23 points, 9.5 rebounds and two assists on 70 percent shooting from the field (14-of-20) and an 81.8 percent mark from the free throw line to boot.

All Good in the Hood

In his second contest utilized as a scoring sparkplug coming off of the bench, 6-5 senior wing Markell Hood thrived in that role Wednesday.

Much like Lovelace, Hood only seemed to get better as the game went on, with the Overland Park, Kan. product posting 15 of his 18 points in the second half. Hood put up a one-handed punctuation on an excellent backdoor feed from AJ Belton with 12:35 to play, then ripped off five straight points by hitting a contested free throw line jumper and a wide-open three from the right corner over a two-minute stretch later in the second half.

Along with scoring his 18 points on an efficient 12 shots, Hood also added in four rebounds and three assists to boot in the contest.

Winning basketball dots statlines of Beard, Belton, Vazquez

With Tre Beard, AJ Belton and Marcos Vazquez, two things are certain -- a team will get high IQ plays, and as a result, a team will get winning basketball from the trio.

Beard's and Vazquez's distribution of the rock and their ability to value it was critical -- as the pair posted nine assists to just two turnovers combined for a 4.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio between them -- all while also adding in three steals combined on the defensive end of the floor. Beard played all 40 minutes and added in 17 points to boot.

As for Belton, the senior forward from Indianapolis, Ind. posted arguably his best top-to-bottom statline at Shawnee State. Scoring six of his 10 points in the second half, Belton ultimately notched his 10 tallies on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a team-high four steals to go along with three rebounds and three assists without a single turnover in 27 minutes of game action.

Additional

Shawnee State will grab two days of rest before returning to action Saturday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium when the Bears face Kentucky Christian (0-2) Saturday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium. Game time is set for 3 p.m.