Bears rally from 4-point deficit with 11.6 seconds left to topple Titans, 75-74; SSU MBB stuns IUSB for second straight year

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Can you say déjà vu?

That, in short form, would be the best way to describe a thrilling comeback by the Shawnee State men's basketball program against Indiana-South Bend Saturday afternoon.

Down by 11 at the halftime break (36-25) and by four (74-70) with 11.6 seconds left in a nonconference matchup, Mike Hunter's squad rallied to pick up a huge victory over Indiana-South Bend for the second consecutive season.

Trailing by a 74-70 count with 11.6 seconds to play, senior guard Tre Beard drew contact on a three-point attempt from the left wing and proceeded to can all three of his free throw attempts to cut the IUSB lead down to a 74-73 margin with 8.7 seconds to go.

Then, on the ensuing inbound pass, the pressure of Beard and fellow backcourt partner Marcos Vazquez led to Vazquez picking up a steal and drawing a foul on a layup attempt underneath the basket with six seconds left.

Vazquez, like Beard before him, drained each of his free throw attempts -- and the Bears, for the second consecutive meeting that pitted Hunter up against his good friend in Indiana South Bend head coach Scott Cooper, rallied from a five-point deficit in less than 30 seconds to steal a victory at Waller Gymnasium in front of a rowdy crowd.

The Rundown

Again taking high quality shots from the field overall, the Bears, for the fifth consecutive game to start the season, shot at least 47 percent or better from the field as a team by going 27-of-56 from the floor for a 48.2 percent accuracy rate overall.

Shawnee State (3-2) also made its opportunities at the line count, as the Bears went 14-of-18 from the line to nab a 77.8 percent mark in that area as well. Behind Beard and Vazquez, SSU made each of its final nine free throw attempts in the critical outcome.

From a rebounding standpoint, the Bears finished plus-two on the glass (34-32) despite going with lineups, at times, that had no player taller than 6-5 on the floor. Shawnee State, with the help of Vazquez, Beard, AJ Belton and Markell Hood, along with key bench production from Damon Charles, Elkin Ramirez and Preston Saia, held Indiana-South Bend to just 36.7 percent shooting from the field (11-of-30) in the second half, with the Titans (2-4) also going just 21.4 percent from three-point range (3-of-14).

Crafty play of Beard, Vazquez key

Following a first half where Shawnee State shot just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field and trailed by the previously mentioned 11-point margin at the halftime break, the pressure of Marcos Vazquez and Tre Beard defensively and the duo's ability to play off of one another offensively were critical as the Bears chipped away at Indiana-South Bend's double-digit advantage.

Held to 12 points combined on 3-of-9 shooting in the opening half, the duo completely turned Shawnee State's fortunes around in the second half with their defensive intensity and their focus in impacting the game beyond scoring, as per usual.

Down 49-43 with 12:04 to play, the pair proceeded to score 20 of Shawnee State's final 32 points during that stretch of time. Over the final 3:31, the duo combined to score all 12 of the Bears' points over that stretch between tough drives and finishes and gritty, winning basketball plays, helping Shawnee State rally to score the victory.

Vazquez, who posted 12 of his 18 points in the second half, matched a game-high with 18 points and went a game-high 8-of-9 (88.8 percent) from the free throw line while going 5-of-7 from the field (71.4 percent). Completing a stat-sheet-stuffing performance, Vazquez also collected nine rebounds to boot for the second-most boards of anybody in the contest.

Beard, who dropped in 16 points, posted 10 cantos in the second half and added in seven rebounds to go along with three assists on his own line.

The senior from Chillicothe combined with Vazquez to set the table nicely for their fellow teammates in the second half, as the duo's five assists to just two turnovers together not only led to a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for the starting backcourt, but also allowed everybody to excel as Shawnee State shot 19-of-29 (65 percent) from the field in the second half.

Beard's play was reminscent of last year, where the 5-10 guard combined with Elkin Ramirez to score the final six points for Shawnee State over the final 22 seconds of action in the Bears' 73-72 victory over Indiana-South Bend on Nov. 18, 2023.

ABC: AJ Belton collects

A guy who always plays much larger than his 6-5 frame indicates, Shawnee State senior forward AJ Belton continued doing just that Saturday against Indiana-South Bend.

Despite being shut out of the scoring column in the first half, Belton never lost his resolve to make an impact on the contest.

The 6-5 senior from Indianapolis, Ind. was rewarded for that resolve, too -- as the senior not only helped Shawnee State pick up the one-point win, but set his new career-high with the Bears in the process and posted his first career double-double at SSU with an 11-point, 10-rebound effort.

Belton, who scored 10 points in the second half alone, finished the day going 5-of-9 from the field. The 6-5 forward hasn't shot worse than 50 percent from the field in any of the four contests that the effective senior has appeared in this season as Belton continues to play the role of defensive enforcer for the Bears while scoring effectively on shots that have come within the flow of the offense.

Additional

Damon Charles, who has played significant minutes in every game so far this season for Shawnee State, arguably enjoyed the best game of his young career as the sophomore posted eight points, two rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting, 6-5 junior wing Markell Hood added eight points on his own to go along with four rebounds and two assists to just one turnover in 22 minutes and senior guard Elkin Ramirez along with freshman wing Preston Saia combined to go 4-of-10 from downtown and added in six points apiece in Saturday's one-point victory.

Shawnee State (3-2) will look to harness the momentum garnered from its one-point victory Saturday and turn it into a another victory Tuesday evening when the Bears travel to play No. 5 Georgetown, Ky. (6-0) at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym in Georgetown. The Bears defeated the Tigers, 83-78, back on Nov. 14, 2023 at Waller Gymnasium -- a time where Georgetown was also ranked as the No. 5 team in the country and came into that contest with a 6-0 mark as well.