SSU MBB falls to St. Thomas in final contest at 'The Show'

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- The men's basketball program at Shawnee State got a 19-point outing from senior guard Tre Beard, but the Bears dropped its final nonconference contest to the St. Thomas (Fla.) men's basketball program, 79-59, Saturday evening to conclude its two-day stretch at 'The Show,' which was held at the MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.

Beard, who scored 19 points to lead the Shawnee State effort, posted 13 tallies in the second half alone as the elite scoring guard was again on the mark offensively. The outstanding student-athlete went 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range in the second half alone while also hitting both of his free throw attempts -- all while playing 18 of the 20 minutes in the second half of competition. Beard played a game-high 36 minutes to boot and ultimately scored his 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and a 5-of-8 mark from three-point range.

For the 2023-24 season, Beard is averaging 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 47.3 percent shooting from the field, 49 percent from three-point range and is on a school record-setting pace at the foul line as Beard is shooting 92.1 percent from that area as well. The 5-10 guard now has 822 points for his career at Shawnee State.

Along with Beard, Donovan Lovelace posted solid second half numbers, collecting nine points, six rebounds and a block on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. Lovelace finished with 13 points and seven rebounds to boot in the contest -- going 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul ine.

Shawnee State (3-5) will turn its attention to its season-opening River States Conference matchup against West Virginia Tech, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. inside Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.